Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh nor do I own Nick who belongs to Linkin-Phoenix, but I do own my original characters. Big thanks to Linkin-Phoenix who provided me information about Adelaide.
Chapter 7: Shadows of the Night
Never found final peace
Their restless life will never cease
When the moon is shining bright
They leave their graves as shadows of the night
DJ Bobo - Shadows of the Night
The dreary black sky surrounded all around Adelaide. The clear day seemed to have vanished, but the inhabitants of the area knew it shouldn't get dark early in the afternoon. The mysterious clouds of darkness shielded the sunlight and the shadows consumed the light. The sea began cascading waves in the shore and piers, all those there had to evacuate immediately. The winds were strong, able to push heavy objects in its way.
Standing upon the balcony of the Hyatt Apartments was a man with brown hair and eyes. He knew such occurrences like this never happened before. Nick worried about Téa, knowing she had to be in the Botanical Gardens. He went back inside, waiting for her to return.
A woman with brown hair and blue eyes gazed up into the sky while she was looking at the plants in the Botanical Gardens. Téa noticed how dark it got, staring down at her watch to check the time.
"It's only 1:15 P.M," Téa observed suspiciously. "This can't be right. I should head back or Nick will worry." She left right away as a silent dark figure was watching her.
Téa paced down the streets of Adelaide, constantly looking over her shoulder. The shadow crept even faster to catch up with her, fear exuded by Téa made her run. She realized no one was around like they suddenly vanished.
"Where is everyone?" she asked fearfully. A chill ran down her spine, glancing over to a shadow in the distant. Red eyes illuminated within the darkness as it cornered Téa. "Who are you!" Téa demanded.
"All in good time, mortal." The shadow said, sweeping through the streets to reach Téa.
Téa ran in another direction, trying to find a place to hide. There was nowhere to go except back to the Hyatt Apartments. She sped down empty streets and finally arrived at her destination. Before Téa could go inside, the shadow found her and wrapped her in a cold embrace.
"Let me go!" Téa screamed. The shadow only laughed. She struggled in its grip, her energy being drained by the dark figure. Téa used what was left of her strength to summon her two Ka: St. Joan and Shinato King of a Higher Plane.
The light emanating from the monsters blinded the shadow. A piercing shriek came from it, releasing Téa before she nearly fainted from the lack of air. St. Joan and Shinato attacked while the shadow was defenseless. The light intensified, making it disappear. Téa's Ka vanished with their task complete.
She ran straight inside and went to take the stairs instead of the elevator. She dug through her purse to find the keys and reached the room she and Nick occupied. Téa's hand shook as she fumbled to find the right key, slipping it into the door and rushed in, bumping into Nick. She slammed the door, panting heavily as she collapsed to the floor.
"I was about to look for you." Nick said. He noticed how exhausted Téa was. "What happened?"
"A strange shadow… tried to kill me…" Téa replied as she breathed deeply for air. She calmed down as Nick helped her stand. "What is going on?"
"I don't know." Nick responded. "The telephones and the electricity don't work."
"I have a feeling that whatever has been happening around the world, may have to do with the Guardians."
"Every time there is world peril, the Guardians always seem to be the cause." Nick said. "Possibly whoever was after you wanted to lure Yugi here."
"Then he's in danger!"
Meanwhile Yugi, Joey, Kaiba and Selene drifted down the streets, noticing that no one was around. The dark clouds loomed high in the sky, for some reason Yugi knew it was not a Shadow Game, but something more. The shadows made him leery of them, each one were a perfect spot to hide shady activity.
Joey nearly trembled as he walked, he couldn't let his fear consume him. He sensed an ominous aura around them, quickly scanned the buildings and streets and located nothing. Joey realized the others were ahead of him and ran after them. Two dark figures watched cautiously of him before disappearing into the shadows.
"Where are we going?" Selene asked, baffled where they were taking her.
"To the Hyatt Apartments," Yugi answered. "Hopefully Téa and Nick are there."
The trip did not take long as they arrived at the apartment complex. Yugi found it unusual that no one was around, but then a shrill cry was heard. He looked everywhere to find the source, and his eyes widened once the Beasts of Chaos appeared.
Anhur and Shesmu flew overhead as if they knew where they were going. Sekhmet was already near to their target, and Yugi hoped they hadn't killed Téa and Nick.
Suddenly the entrance to the building opened and Nick and Téa ran out, shocked by the arrival of the Beasts of Chaos. They had no idea what they were, but they sensed the monsters were evil. Yugi and the others met up with them, overjoyed to see each other.
"You're not hurt." Yugi said.
"Who are you?" Téa questioned, noticing Selene.
"I am Selene." She introduced.
"Can you explain what were those creatures?" Nick interrupted, glancing at the direction the Beasts of Chaos went.
"Right now we need to know where they are going." Yugi replied.
Téa gasped and stared warily into the sky. "Those monsters must be headed to the Parliament House!"
"Great, are there any Guardians wanting to destroy every last bit of the world government?" Nick mused.
"We don't know who's behind this, though." Joey said.
"Well, lead the way." Selene urged. "We haven't much time but I'll explain on the way."
They went straight to the targeted area, passing by seemingly desolate buildings. Selene told Nick and Téa everything about what was going on and of the Beasts of Chaos. She also explained that Ra and Ammon were no longer of use to the Keepers, and that Artemis had been missing for the past six years.
The Beasts of Chaos had not started their destruction, yet looked as though they were waiting for Yugi and the others to come. The creatures stood in front of the Parliament House, prepared to strike, but they also planned to attack the Lord Mayor's house after they were done.
The group approached the Beasts of Chaos, and Téa and Nick were about to summon their Ka until Selene stopped them. They were alarmed by her behavior, and the Guardian continued her explanation of what they were dealing with.
Téa wanted to say something about her encounter with the mysterious shadow. An eerie feeling came upon her like someone watching.
"Téa, are you alright?" Yugi inquired, concerned by her terrified gaze.
"I'm fine." Téa responded. "Selene, how are we supposed to stop these creatures?"
Selene nodded. "Even if the Beasts of Chaos aren't Guardians, man-made weapons still have no effect, especially your sword." She faced Nick who she noticed carrying his sword with him, then she stared at Yugi. "There is still one chance for us."
"The Neo Guardians are the only ones to stop the Beasts of Chaos," Yugi continued, holding out Set, "But will one be enough to stop them?"
"You mean there's more?" Nick queried.
"Seven to be exact." Selene replied.
Yugi held out the card in the air as the Guardian appeared in the sky. The Beasts of Chaos saw Set and they began to attack. Yugi needed Set to lure them somewhere away from the Parliament House, and he knew it would not be an easy task. His friends departed to a safer distance, avoiding the battle.
Sekhmet tried slamming Set to the ground, but the Guardian flew to safety, and then confronted Anhur and Shesmu. Anhur stretched out its long wings and chased Set relentlessly in the air. Shesmu went after Yugi's friends, spewing hot flames towards them. Selene used her powers to transport them somewhere evading the attack. The blaze was intense, melting the asphalt on the street, and a hazy look obscured Yugi's vision on the fight. He was unable to find Set and he searched everywhere.
"Yugi, watch out!" He heard Téa's warning. Sekhmet smashed the sidewalk with her claws, causing it to break, and the debris was headed straight to Yugi.
The tough material hit its mark as Yugi was caught in the blast. Smoke sated where Sekhmet attacked and as it cleared, Yugi was nowhere to be found. Téa dropped to her knees, horrified about her friend.
"Yugi!" Joey called out, running to the pile of rock as Sekhmet melded with the shadows. Kaiba, Téa, Nick and Selene followed him, just as astonished as he. Joey started to remove the debris, hoping that Yugi was fine.
"Wheeler, I doubt Yugi survived that." Kaiba said in a cold tone.
"He can't be gone…" Téa sobbed, taking in Nick's embrace as tears fell from her eyes.
Selene watched the continuous battle, Set was not doing any good, and Anhur and Shesmu seemed to be succeeding. She looked at the others with sadness, and yet, she knew Yugi was still alive. A presence made her jump, two figures appeared before them.
"It is time for the next Neo Guardian to awaken." Tyche said furtively, her forked tail twitched.
"Tyche!" Selene gasped. "Take the chosen mortal to whom the Neo Guardian seeks."
"Joseph Wheeler, come with me." Tyche replied.
"I'll only go if you tell us Yugi's all right!" Joey insisted.
Heka sighed, red eyes glaring at him. "Ra is very much alive, if you know where to look." His head tilted wayward.
Tyche's body glowed as did Joey's. They both vanished, reappearing into the shadow dimension of the Temple of the Sun. Joey was slightly amazed of his surroundings, passing by corridors filled with ancient secrets and treasures. They approached the same wall where Tyche took Yugi, the hidden door unsealed itself and the Guardian Beast stepped in with Joey behind her.
The torchlight flickered, its flame illuminated the stone tablets positioned on two sides of the chamber. One particular tablet glowed, awaiting for Joey to release it from its prison. Instantly Joey walked up to the tablet and placed his hands on it. The light grew brighter as the depicted figure disappeared. A card materialized in Joey's right hand, the portrayed being from the tablet was on it.
"You now control Thoth, Guardian Servant of Ammon." Tyche stated, the chamber began dissolving as Joey returned to Adelaide.
He noticed Sekhmet joined in the fight against Set, Anhur decided it was time to destroy the Parliament House since no one seemed to be able to stop them. Anhur swiped down a stone pillar with its strong spiked tail, the structure began to fall as each of its pillars collapsed. Joey's hardened gaze made him raise the card in the air, summoning the Guardian trapped within.
"Thoth, Guardian Servant of Ammon, I call upon you!" Joey commanded. The Guardian's light seemed to fly out of the card, forming itself in the sky. Auburn eyes stared down at Joey and then realized Set was in trouble.
Thoth interjected the battle as he created lightning in the palm of his hands. He shot his attack at Shesmu, the immense beast fell to the ground. Sekhmet and Anhur were not pleased by the Guardian's arrival and they both attacked Thoth together. Their combined moves were aimed for Thoth, but Set quickly blinded them with his powers of light. Thoth joined in and fired at them another bolt of lightning. Shesmu attempted to get up and it saw the attacks hit both Anhur and Sekhmet.
Set noticed Shesmu remained able to fight. He and Thoth had one more move that could vanquish the monsters. They united their attacks, generating a strong light that weakened the Beasts of Chaos.
They were powerless under the extreme condition they were put through, the dark clouds dissipated and allowed the sunlight to enter. The Beasts of Chaos roared as the harsh rays caused them to retreat once more into the shadows. Set and Thoth returned back into their card form, but Yugi had not reclaimed Set at all.
Joey looked around after Thoth transformed back to his card as his owner went to find his friends. He located them at the Parliament House where the Beasts of Chaos nearly dismantled it. Joey still saw no sign of Yugi and he started to worry.
"Joey!" Téa shouted to him. She was happy that Joey made it, but she was also concerned about Yugi.
Joey caught up with his friends, frightened that his best friend might have not lived. "Yugi, where is he?" he asked, his voice quivering.
Téa shook her head in disappointment. "He hasn't come back."
"Who says I haven't?" Yugi's voice echoed somewhere nearby. His friends looked up as two people stood with him on top of the Parliament House. Yugi walked carefully down the dilapidated building whilst the people with him followed.
"You're alive!" Joey cried happily, rushing to him as the others came behind him. "How did you make it out?"
Yugi looked tensely towards the pair: one male and one female. "Well, they saved me."
"What are you doing here?" Kaiba questioned the male companion, raising an eyebrow. He remembered Stella was a part of the Final Five, but the other person with her was unfamiliar.
"I'm Nanook, Guardian of the North." The man introduced.
Stella smirked at Nanook as he frowned at the destruction unleashed by the Beasts of Chaos. She placed her arms around the back of her neck, kicking some of the debris out of her way. "It seems we have come too late to save this place."
"This is what we get for remaining in Elysium for long…" Nanook replied remorsefully.
"Can you two explain to us what are you talking about?" Joey yelled irritably.
Stella leaped back from him, her eyes twitching from his remark. "You don't have to be rude!" she said back.
"Relax, I'll tell them," Nanook replied. "You see both Stella and I were stationed in Elysium before being called out here. She's just been a bit grouchy lately because she's now taking orders from Uranus." He earned a glare from Stella to which he ignored.
The female Guardian crossed her arms. "Hmph. If you ask me, Uranus always wanted Pluto's position to begin with. Look at how he's bossing us around!"
Unperturbed by her remarks, Joey stared at his Neo Guardian card. "Hey, Yugi, look at this."
Yugi examined the card Joey was showing him and his eyes nearly doubled in size. He took out Set and realized that Thoth was indeed another Neo Guardian. "Two down, five to go." Yugi replied. He gave back Thoth to Joey and glanced at Stella and Nanook.
Sighing, Nanook shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Do we have to stay here? I mean, can't Uranus find someone else to this job for us?"
"I tried. Unfortunately Athena and Vulcan have their own priorities on Animus while Zephyrus is playing errand boy to him." Stella's lips curved into a devious smile. "Why? Can't stand the weather?"
"You know I hate warmer climates."
"Uh, I think we may have attracted some attention…" Selene said timidly, indicating that people were emerging as the sky turned clear again.
They saw the Parliament House, shocked to how it became destroyed. What surprised them more was the fact that Kaiba, Yugi and Joey were in their city without so much as a purpose for having come. Stella and Nanook were nervous, knowing that this would cause trouble should they stick around.
"Why don't we just ignore them…?" Stella suggested to them.
"I don't think that will be easy." Téa said.
"We need to hide from the mortals or they will question us." Selene observed, her eyes glowed and they all disappeared. She made sure that she erased the memory of them at the Parliament House, but at the same time she was confused about how the people could have mysteriously left the city during the whole incident.
The entire group appeared somewhere away from the Parliament House, checking if the close was clear. Stella and Nanook guarded them as Yugi and the others spoke about the latest attack on the Mortal World. Yugi still had no clue to why the Beasts of Chaos came to Adelaide in the first place, yet instinct told him that it had to do with Téa.
He stared at her for a moment, she seemed fine, and he sensed something was not right. He could feel she was appalled about an early encounter with the enemy. "Téa, are you sure you're fine?" Yugi queried.
Téa turned her head away. "A shadow…" she began, "It seemed it was after me and it felt cold, like darkness consumed within."
"How did you manage to escape it?" Kaiba asked.
"I summoned my Ka and their light made it withdraw back to the darkness," Téa continued. "The strange thing about it, it followed me when the clouds started covering the sky."
Yugi knew a connection was taking place. The Beasts of Chaos only appeared during the night, but the dark sky might have been their opportunity to strike. Was the shadow a diversion? Or was there more to just the Beasts of Chaos? Someone was behind their recent attack and he could not let them destroy the Earth at any cost.
"Téa, maybe you should go back with Yugi." Nick said.
"I don't want to leave you if that shadow comes after you too, Nick!" Téa protested.
"We'll protect him. Just as long as he still doesn't hold any hard feelings against me." Stella offered as she wanted to forgive Nick for harming him six years ago. "Right now the mortals need an explanation as to why the Parliament House is in ruin."
Nanook nodded his head. "We'll make sure the Beasts of Chaos don't come back for another attack."
Téa looked back at Nick. She didn't want to leave him, but she knew she was probably needed to help Yugi to fight this inexplicable foe. "Just be careful." She said to him.
Selene used the rest of her strength to create another warp portal, Téa waved farewell to Nick as she and her friends disappeared into the vortex. Nanook and Stella headed back to the Parliament House to see if they could come up with something that could explain the state it was in now. Nick walked back with them, overhearing their ideas.
"I say it was attacked by aliens!" Stella recommended.
Nanook shook his head. "No, no, they won't believe that."
"How about a monsoon hit?"
"There is no way a monsoon could have destroyed it without having the other buildings destroyed along with it."
Nick sighed at their foolishness, but they needed to convince the people of Adelaide and the rest of Australia about what happened to the Parliament House.
Meanwhile back in New York, Yugi and the others arrived safely back. Selene transported them inside the house they were in before they left. To their surprise, the blizzard had not stopped. The snow fell rapidly from the sky, worrying them if the Beasts of Chaos were behind the unusual weather conditions too.
Téa was glad to see Mai again. She had meet her when she was in Domino a year ago, and the two were just as happy than ever. Selene sat back down on a chair, tired from using her powers. Horus heard his sister explain to him the details of the fight against the Beasts of Chaos and how Joey unlocked the second Neo Guardian.
Yugi noticed someone was missing. "Where's Rebecca?" he asked.
Atem came over to him and smiled to Téa. ""I believe she went to your room with Hathor."
"Hathor?" Téa inquired.
"I'll tell you all you need to know." Jupiter said, taking her to the dining room where it was more peaceful.
Yugi looked out the window as the blizzard became severe. He pondered over what their new threat was after, he was sure they wanted Ra's power, and yet it seemed it wasn't that. There was something more he was neglecting and all the clues were getting him nowhere. This time his foe might have wanted to attain a greater power from him, and only the Guardians knew what they were after.
Author's Notes: Not much to say but here's the synopsis on Chapter 8:
Evidence linking to the Beasts of Chaos still do not add up to Yugi, and it's time for him to ask the questions. He knows the Guardians have the answers, yet they lead him on a wild goose chase. Also suspicion begins to arouse Téa about Rebecca's purpose in being with them, and she, too, seeks the truth from her. On the next Struggle of Chaos - Chapter 8: Proof is the Final Battle!
