The Millennium Ritual
Chapter 21: The Ritual
"Aura, wake up!" Yami cried, shaking her limp body.
"It's no use Yami," Y. Bakura sneered, "You can't save her now that her mind is in the Shadow Realm."
"It was relatively easy, defeating the wench." said Shanek, as he walked over to Yami, Kaiba, Joey, Tea, and Tristan. Yami stood as Tea fanned Aura's pale face, and as Joey and Tristan patted her hands. And as you can see, Rasa was nowhere to be found, for he drove away in sight of Aura's body.
"Who are you?" Yami asked angrily, as Kaiba stood and walked beside him.
"Allow me to introduce myself," He said, "I am the one known as Shanek, the mastermind behind this event, and the murderer of the oh so great High Priestess Maeve." Shanek turned to Y. Bakura. "I believe you two have met before?"
"We have," Yami answered in anger, as Y. Bakura waved his hand at him, grinning. 'So this is the person who killed you sister.' Yugi stated through mind link.
'It is.' Yami answered back, a vein popping in his knuckles.
"Where is my little brother, punk?" Kaiba said angrily.
"He is safe and sound Kaiba. All of them are, as you can see here. . ." Y. Bakura answered coolly, turning his hand behind him. Everyone turned to look.
Out of the darkness over 18 Millennium Hunters appeared, surrounding everyone in a circle.
"Not this again," Joey moaned, remembering what happened last time.
"Yeah, and this time Aura's not here to save us." Tristan said as he stared at Aura.
Shanek snapped his fingers, and in reaction three of the Hunters stepped into the moonlight, each holding Serenity, Mokuba, and Yugi's grandfather. They released their grips on the three captives.
"Mokuba!" Kaiba exclaimed, holding out his arms.
"Big brother!" Mokuba exclaimed back, running into Kaiba's arms and hugging him.
"Sis!" Joey cried as he hugged and patted Serenity's head. "Don't worry, I'm here."
"Yami, I was wondering when you were to come." Mr. Motto stated to Yami. His eyes widened.
"You mean, you know who I am?"
"My dear boy, I known ever since Pegasus's tournament."
Yami smiled, and shook Mr. Motto's hand. "I am glad you are back sir." Mr. Motto nodded in response.
"What a beautiful reunion!" Shanek said, drying an imaginary tear and clapping. But quickly he changed his expression. "Now let's get back to business."
"Why did you free them Shanek? I thought you needed them to complete the ritual." Tea asked questioningly.
Y. Bakura shook his head. "My, my, you and your little friends need to listen up more," He said, wagging his finger like a dog's tail, "All we needed them for was to lure these three," He waved his hand at Kaiba, Yami, and Aura, "here."
"And they have done their part very well." Shanek said, smiling. Just then Shanek spoke in Egyptian to the Hunters, and in response six Hunters stood and took hold of Mokuba, Serenity, Mr. Motto, Joey, Tea and Tristan. Mokuba and Serenity were taken from their sibling's arms, while the rest took Mr. Motto, Tristan, Tea and Joey by force. Aura, whose head was laid on Tea's lap, fell to the ground, causing some of the cards in her duel disk to scatter around her. The only two remained standing was Yami and Kaiba.
"What is the meaning of this Shanek?!" yelled Yami, looking at each of the Hunters.
"Like I said before, they were to only lure you three here, so there's no need for them now." Shanek smiled menacingly. He turned to the Hunters once more. "Get them out of my sight."
The caped men nodded in response, and quickly moved into the shadows, away from the four men's sight.
"What are you going to do to them?!" Kaiba demanded. Shanek didn't listen, for then he nodded his head at Y. Bakura, giving him a signal. Y. Bakura nodded back, and walked over to Aura, picking her up and slinging her body over his shoulder. More cards flew away from her duel disk, as her Millennium Orb glowed faintly. But unfortunately, Y. Bakura noticed the light.
"Shanek, the woman's Millennium Orb is glowing," He stated, taking the orb and staring at it.
"Millennium what?" Kaiba asked, a look of confusion on his face.
Shanek however, had a look of surprise on his face. "What? The High Priest does not know what the Millennium Orb is?"
"I do not know either Shanek," Yami said angrily. Shanek was silent for a moment, until he laughed hysterically.
"You really did lose your memory, considering the fact that that belonged to your dear sister!" Shanek continued, "You see, your father and his priests predicted that a son would be born to him, so when your sister was born, they realized that they had made a false prediction. Then, a year later, you were born. Your father created the Millennium Items, giving you the Millennium Puzzle."
"But what about little Maeve, you say? She was forgotten, unworthy to hold the throne of Egypt! The Pharaoh at that time spent his time on you, Yami, instead of his first born."
Yami cringed, remembering the times when their father played with him, while Maeve spent her time studying by herself, with no tutors, staring at him enviously.
"Then finally, the Pharaoh's priests found out about her amazing abilities with magic, and with that knowledge, they made and gave her the Millennium Orb." Shanek finished.
"Now that that is over and done with," Y. Bakura said, "Let's begin the Ritual!"
With that said, the moon suddenly appeared out of the clouds, its light shining down on the Nile River. Shanek tossed the Millennium Rod to Kaiba, who caught it.
"You shall need it," Shanek said, serious.
Suddenly four Millennium Hunters appeared, who each grabbed Yami and Kaiba's arms. They struggled, but could not break free of their grasps. Then, all the Millennium Hunters appeared, and about 12 of them carried torches and pouches and stones. The 12 Hunters then slowly waded into the water, forming a circle.
Y. Bakura, who then said, "We must hurry, before Maeve takes control of her body!" He gave Aura's body to Shanek, who then carried her inside the water, toward the center of the circle of hunters.
"Bring the Pharaoh and Priest!" ordered Shanek. The four Hunters holding Kaiba and Yami came forward into the water, walking toward Shanek. Yami felt the water's cold touch wash its way up to his legs.
"Are you prepared!?" Shanek yelled to the Hunters.
"Yes Sir!" They responded back. Yami looked around, seeing the torches held by the Hunters, and the pouches and stones floating on the river's surface. No longer did Kaiba and Yami struggle, for they knew that the Ritual had already begun.
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"Yugi! Kaiba!" Joey yelled, struggling to get out of the Hunter's grasp, "Get out of there!"
"What are they going to do to them?" Tea cried, as she stared on to the circle of hunters, with the moonlight bouncing off their capes.
"They're going to use Aura's body as a sacrifice, now that her mind is in the shadow realm." Serenity answered quietly. Joey, Tea and Tristan all stared at her.
"Serenity, how do you know?" Tristan asked.
"She knows, because she saw it happen, all of us did," Mr. Motto responded quietly.
"We saw it happen with our own eyes, there's no stopping it," Mokuba said, tears in his eyes. "A-all we wanted to know was what was going to happen to you guys, so we used the stone Shanek used to spy on you."
"We asked it what will happen if Shanek got you, and we saw what happened," Serenity said, now looking up, "It was terrible, the thing appeared out of this-this hole in the water, towering over the Yugi, Kaiba and Aura. We learned who Aura was through the stone too, so now it's like, we've known her for a long time."
"The creature rose, and suddenly. . . suddenly. . ." Mr. Motto hesitated.
"What? What did it do?" Tea asked, afraid.
Mokuba sighed, a tear rolling down his face.
"You'll have to find out," He finished.
________________________________________________________________
"By the power of Earth. . ." They chanted, as three of the twelve Millennium Hunters held up their torches, the fire a greenish glow.
"Wind. . ." Three hunters held up their torches, the fire now a white glow.
"Fire. . ." Another three held up their torches, the fire a red glow.
"And Water. . ." The last three held up their torches, now the fire was blue.
"Grant us passage to this hour!"
Suddenly the four hunters holding Kaiba and Yami freed them, quickly wading out to the river bank and onto land.
Yami and Kaiba stumbled and fell into the water, their Millennium Items still in their hands. Wet to the bone, they stood unsteadily.
"Reveal the Darkness to our Light!"
With those words said, the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Puzzle glowed a blinding light.
"What's going on?!" Kaiba yelled to Yami, as the Rod in his hand glowed. Yami did not answer, for he was staring at Shanek, who held Aura in his arms. Shanek's eyes held a menacing look.
"Kaiba, we must free Aura from Shanek, before he completes the Ritual!" Yami informed to Kaiba, who nodded in response. Together they walked to Shanek, their Millennium Items glowing brighter and brighter. As they approached him, Kaiba noticed that Aura's Millennium Orb was glowing as well. Shanek and the Hunters chanted the last words.
"Grant the Shadow Monster safe passage through the Night!" Shanek finished.
That was when Kaiba and Yami were about to grab Shanek's shoulders, before a huge explosion blew the 12 Millennium Hunters out of the river and onto the land. The Three Millennium Items, the Puzzle, the Rod, and the Orb shot three rays of white, gold, and silver into the Moon. Kaiba and Yami gasped, as the Moon's blue hue changed to the color of black and sent a black ray down to the river.
Shanek laughed menacingly, his eyes filled with madness. "You're too late Pharaoh!!!" He screamed, as Kaiba and Yami backed away from him, "The countdown to the World's Destruction has begun!!!"
"World's destruction?!" Yami yelled. The black ray shot itself to the Nile, as the water in the river disappeared until there was no water left. They were left standing on the river's bottom, with no water in sight.
The Millennium Hunters holding Tea, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, Mokuba, and Mr. Motto ran away in fright, knowing what was to happen. Together they all ran to the river bank, saying to them, "Yugi! Kaiba! GET OUT OF THERE!!!"
They did not listen, for the two men were not sure what to do, abandon Aura for their own lives, or to try to free her.
Joey and Tristan began to run to Yami and Kaiba, until Serenity and Mr. Motto stopped them.
"Hey! Let go! We've got to go and save them!" yelled Joey.
"You can't! You can't save them! It already begun!" Serenity yelled above the tumbling rocks. The Nile began to split, causing the rocks and sand to make much noise and chaos.
A dark crevasse appeared in the river, as a pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness.
"Come forth, LUCIAN!!!" Shanek screamed, as he held Aura's body up in the air.
The red eyes disappeared, and lingered in the darkness. Suddenly the body shot up, towering over the group of people. The Shadow Monster was huge, filled with darkness and despair. Everyone felt its wave of evil. The Shadow Monster's eyes squinted, looking at its surroundings.
Y. Bakura grinned, and said, "YES!!! IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!"
"THE SHELL, MY LORD!!!" Shanek said, bowing and slowly dropping Aura's body to the ground. He backed away, as Yami and Kaiba stared at the Monster's figure.
"You shall now feel Lucian's wrath, Pharaoh," Shanek said easily, as he passed Yami and Kaiba and walked over to Y. Bakura's side. "Now you shall feel the pain of despair and darkness."
Yami, not knowing what he meant, suddenly ran over to Aura, standing in front of her body, protecting her. Kaiba came forward also, the Millennium Rod in his hand.
"Go back to your own world, beast!" Yami yelled, the Millennium Symbol glowing on his forehead.
"We don't need your kind here, punk!" Kaiba yelled, the Millennium Symbol glowing on his forehead as well. Together they held up their Millennium Items and shot two rays of silver and gold toward the Shadow Monster. Now if Kaiba wasn't in this situation, he would have thought this was stupid. But this time, lives were at stake, and he knew it. So he followed along with Yami, determined to save the innocent lives.
The Monster did not feel it, in fact, it didn't even notice. It was focusing its attention toward Aura's mindless body, its red eyes filled with revenge.
Suddenly the Shadow Monster flew up into the air, and dove straight toward Aura's body. Aura's body reacted toward the action, as she shook and shivered, blood seeping out of her mouth.
"Aura!" both Yami and Kaiba screamed. The Monster kept on going, until then it suddenly disappeared, with Aura on the ground, covered with her own blood.
"What happened?!" Tea cried, as she saw Kaiba and Yami running toward Aura's body. Tea stepped forward, until Serenity stopped her. "What are you doing?" Tea asked.
Serenity didn't answer, but instead said, "Yugi! Kaiba! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Yami looked at her, not understanding. Kaiba noticed that both Shanek and Y. Bakura were gone.
"What in the world happened to her?" Kaiba asked, as they both stared at Aura.
"I don't know," Yami answered back.
They were silent, not knowing what to do. Then, at that moment, Kaiba touched her shoulder, saying to Yami, "Let's go."
Suddenly Aura's eyes shot open. Yami and Kaiba both gasped, backing away from her.
She sat up, her eyes now crimson and demon like. Aura stared at her hands, looking down at her white dress that was now red with blood. Her Millennium Orb was covered with blood, and Yami noticed that her fingers now grown claw-like.
"A-Aura?" stuttered Yami, uncertain.
Aura stood unsteadily, as if she did not stand all her life.
"Who is this Aura you speak of?" she said lazily, her voice twisted and dry. Suddenly, her hair was changing. It turned longer, reaching to her knees, and her hair was no longer black and gold, but a pearl white and gold. She looked at her surroundings, her blood colored eyes darting this way and that.
"Boy," she said, examining her hair, "What Millennium do we live in?"
"Aura, what in the world is-" Kaiba started, walking toward her. He was about a yard away from her, when her arm stretched and took Kaiba by the neck. Kaiba coughed, his body lifted off the ground.
"Listen to me when I speak mortal," she said, angry, "What is this century?"
"T-th-the 21st c-c-entu-ury!" Kaiba spluttered, strangled. She freed him from her grasp, as he fell on knees, coughing. Yami ran over to him, patting his back.
Aura, staring at her fingernails once more, finally put her gaze on Kaiba and Yami's faces. Yami and Kaiba stared back. Her eyes widened.
"Priest. . ." she hissed, as she squinted her eyes, "Pharaoh. . ."
"What have you done with Aura?!" Yami demanded, standing up as he helped Kaiba stand also.
The creature chuckled, its laugh like animals being tortured.
"You insolent fool," she said, setting her eyes toward them, "I am not this Aura you speak of, although her body shall suit me well in my conquest."
"Then w-who are you?" Kaiba asked angrily.
It laughed once more, as its dress, cape, and pearl white hair flew in the air.
"Have you no ears?" it sneered, "Very well, I shall repeat what that mortal had uttered."
The thing paused before saying, "I am Lucian, the Master of the Realm of Shadows."
Yami and Kaiba were silent, not sure of the meaning of its title. Lucian stared at Aura's body, or its shell.
"A human's body is weaker than I thought, considering the blood it spluttered is now on my new flesh." Lucian stated, squeezing the fabric. Blood seeped to the ground as the fabric was squeezed by its clawed hands.
"That human is our friend Aura, and she is no piece of clothing that you can throw away!" Yami yelled in anguish, as another ray of gold shot from the Millennium Puzzle toward Lucian.
Yawning, Lucian waved its hand, causing the ray to waver away to nothing.
"I thank you for freeing me Pharaoh," it said, as it backed away from them, "but I now shall take my leave, for some cleansing is needed." It crossed its arms, and suddenly dark shadows appeared from beneath it, causing Lucian to sink under.
"But before I leave, a warning in case you have an urge to stop me," Lucian stated lazily. It stuck out a finger toward the group of people. Suddenly the finger shifted and changed, its tip as sharp as a sword blade. The finger shot out and left the hand, coming toward Serenity.
"Serenity, look out!" yelled Mokuba, pushing her out of the arrow's way. Just as he did, the finger met Mokuba's flesh, right in the stomach. Mokuba cried in pain, blood seeping out of the wound. He fell, unconscious. The teenagers and Mr. Motto crowded around him in despair.
"MOKUBA!!!" Kaiba screamed. He turned to Lucian. "Lucian! What have you done?!" He demanded.
All Lucian did was grin, a lazy menacing grin. Slowly it sank down into the depths of the shadows, until it disappeared completely.
To Be Continued. . .
Dun Duun Duuuuunnn!!!!! Oh no! Poor Mokuba!!!! What will happen!!?? Well I guess you'll have to read the next chapter, wouldn't you?
Note to curious readers:
Now in the reviews that I had just received, you all think that Aura is dead. Hate to break it to ya, but she's not. All that happened to her was that her mind was sent in the shadow realm.
Some people were wondering when the Ritual took place. Well, I suggest you read over chapter 10, for in there explained the Ritual.
Chapter 21: The Ritual
"Aura, wake up!" Yami cried, shaking her limp body.
"It's no use Yami," Y. Bakura sneered, "You can't save her now that her mind is in the Shadow Realm."
"It was relatively easy, defeating the wench." said Shanek, as he walked over to Yami, Kaiba, Joey, Tea, and Tristan. Yami stood as Tea fanned Aura's pale face, and as Joey and Tristan patted her hands. And as you can see, Rasa was nowhere to be found, for he drove away in sight of Aura's body.
"Who are you?" Yami asked angrily, as Kaiba stood and walked beside him.
"Allow me to introduce myself," He said, "I am the one known as Shanek, the mastermind behind this event, and the murderer of the oh so great High Priestess Maeve." Shanek turned to Y. Bakura. "I believe you two have met before?"
"We have," Yami answered in anger, as Y. Bakura waved his hand at him, grinning. 'So this is the person who killed you sister.' Yugi stated through mind link.
'It is.' Yami answered back, a vein popping in his knuckles.
"Where is my little brother, punk?" Kaiba said angrily.
"He is safe and sound Kaiba. All of them are, as you can see here. . ." Y. Bakura answered coolly, turning his hand behind him. Everyone turned to look.
Out of the darkness over 18 Millennium Hunters appeared, surrounding everyone in a circle.
"Not this again," Joey moaned, remembering what happened last time.
"Yeah, and this time Aura's not here to save us." Tristan said as he stared at Aura.
Shanek snapped his fingers, and in reaction three of the Hunters stepped into the moonlight, each holding Serenity, Mokuba, and Yugi's grandfather. They released their grips on the three captives.
"Mokuba!" Kaiba exclaimed, holding out his arms.
"Big brother!" Mokuba exclaimed back, running into Kaiba's arms and hugging him.
"Sis!" Joey cried as he hugged and patted Serenity's head. "Don't worry, I'm here."
"Yami, I was wondering when you were to come." Mr. Motto stated to Yami. His eyes widened.
"You mean, you know who I am?"
"My dear boy, I known ever since Pegasus's tournament."
Yami smiled, and shook Mr. Motto's hand. "I am glad you are back sir." Mr. Motto nodded in response.
"What a beautiful reunion!" Shanek said, drying an imaginary tear and clapping. But quickly he changed his expression. "Now let's get back to business."
"Why did you free them Shanek? I thought you needed them to complete the ritual." Tea asked questioningly.
Y. Bakura shook his head. "My, my, you and your little friends need to listen up more," He said, wagging his finger like a dog's tail, "All we needed them for was to lure these three," He waved his hand at Kaiba, Yami, and Aura, "here."
"And they have done their part very well." Shanek said, smiling. Just then Shanek spoke in Egyptian to the Hunters, and in response six Hunters stood and took hold of Mokuba, Serenity, Mr. Motto, Joey, Tea and Tristan. Mokuba and Serenity were taken from their sibling's arms, while the rest took Mr. Motto, Tristan, Tea and Joey by force. Aura, whose head was laid on Tea's lap, fell to the ground, causing some of the cards in her duel disk to scatter around her. The only two remained standing was Yami and Kaiba.
"What is the meaning of this Shanek?!" yelled Yami, looking at each of the Hunters.
"Like I said before, they were to only lure you three here, so there's no need for them now." Shanek smiled menacingly. He turned to the Hunters once more. "Get them out of my sight."
The caped men nodded in response, and quickly moved into the shadows, away from the four men's sight.
"What are you going to do to them?!" Kaiba demanded. Shanek didn't listen, for then he nodded his head at Y. Bakura, giving him a signal. Y. Bakura nodded back, and walked over to Aura, picking her up and slinging her body over his shoulder. More cards flew away from her duel disk, as her Millennium Orb glowed faintly. But unfortunately, Y. Bakura noticed the light.
"Shanek, the woman's Millennium Orb is glowing," He stated, taking the orb and staring at it.
"Millennium what?" Kaiba asked, a look of confusion on his face.
Shanek however, had a look of surprise on his face. "What? The High Priest does not know what the Millennium Orb is?"
"I do not know either Shanek," Yami said angrily. Shanek was silent for a moment, until he laughed hysterically.
"You really did lose your memory, considering the fact that that belonged to your dear sister!" Shanek continued, "You see, your father and his priests predicted that a son would be born to him, so when your sister was born, they realized that they had made a false prediction. Then, a year later, you were born. Your father created the Millennium Items, giving you the Millennium Puzzle."
"But what about little Maeve, you say? She was forgotten, unworthy to hold the throne of Egypt! The Pharaoh at that time spent his time on you, Yami, instead of his first born."
Yami cringed, remembering the times when their father played with him, while Maeve spent her time studying by herself, with no tutors, staring at him enviously.
"Then finally, the Pharaoh's priests found out about her amazing abilities with magic, and with that knowledge, they made and gave her the Millennium Orb." Shanek finished.
"Now that that is over and done with," Y. Bakura said, "Let's begin the Ritual!"
With that said, the moon suddenly appeared out of the clouds, its light shining down on the Nile River. Shanek tossed the Millennium Rod to Kaiba, who caught it.
"You shall need it," Shanek said, serious.
Suddenly four Millennium Hunters appeared, who each grabbed Yami and Kaiba's arms. They struggled, but could not break free of their grasps. Then, all the Millennium Hunters appeared, and about 12 of them carried torches and pouches and stones. The 12 Hunters then slowly waded into the water, forming a circle.
Y. Bakura, who then said, "We must hurry, before Maeve takes control of her body!" He gave Aura's body to Shanek, who then carried her inside the water, toward the center of the circle of hunters.
"Bring the Pharaoh and Priest!" ordered Shanek. The four Hunters holding Kaiba and Yami came forward into the water, walking toward Shanek. Yami felt the water's cold touch wash its way up to his legs.
"Are you prepared!?" Shanek yelled to the Hunters.
"Yes Sir!" They responded back. Yami looked around, seeing the torches held by the Hunters, and the pouches and stones floating on the river's surface. No longer did Kaiba and Yami struggle, for they knew that the Ritual had already begun.
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"Yugi! Kaiba!" Joey yelled, struggling to get out of the Hunter's grasp, "Get out of there!"
"What are they going to do to them?" Tea cried, as she stared on to the circle of hunters, with the moonlight bouncing off their capes.
"They're going to use Aura's body as a sacrifice, now that her mind is in the shadow realm." Serenity answered quietly. Joey, Tea and Tristan all stared at her.
"Serenity, how do you know?" Tristan asked.
"She knows, because she saw it happen, all of us did," Mr. Motto responded quietly.
"We saw it happen with our own eyes, there's no stopping it," Mokuba said, tears in his eyes. "A-all we wanted to know was what was going to happen to you guys, so we used the stone Shanek used to spy on you."
"We asked it what will happen if Shanek got you, and we saw what happened," Serenity said, now looking up, "It was terrible, the thing appeared out of this-this hole in the water, towering over the Yugi, Kaiba and Aura. We learned who Aura was through the stone too, so now it's like, we've known her for a long time."
"The creature rose, and suddenly. . . suddenly. . ." Mr. Motto hesitated.
"What? What did it do?" Tea asked, afraid.
Mokuba sighed, a tear rolling down his face.
"You'll have to find out," He finished.
________________________________________________________________
"By the power of Earth. . ." They chanted, as three of the twelve Millennium Hunters held up their torches, the fire a greenish glow.
"Wind. . ." Three hunters held up their torches, the fire now a white glow.
"Fire. . ." Another three held up their torches, the fire a red glow.
"And Water. . ." The last three held up their torches, now the fire was blue.
"Grant us passage to this hour!"
Suddenly the four hunters holding Kaiba and Yami freed them, quickly wading out to the river bank and onto land.
Yami and Kaiba stumbled and fell into the water, their Millennium Items still in their hands. Wet to the bone, they stood unsteadily.
"Reveal the Darkness to our Light!"
With those words said, the Millennium Rod and the Millennium Puzzle glowed a blinding light.
"What's going on?!" Kaiba yelled to Yami, as the Rod in his hand glowed. Yami did not answer, for he was staring at Shanek, who held Aura in his arms. Shanek's eyes held a menacing look.
"Kaiba, we must free Aura from Shanek, before he completes the Ritual!" Yami informed to Kaiba, who nodded in response. Together they walked to Shanek, their Millennium Items glowing brighter and brighter. As they approached him, Kaiba noticed that Aura's Millennium Orb was glowing as well. Shanek and the Hunters chanted the last words.
"Grant the Shadow Monster safe passage through the Night!" Shanek finished.
That was when Kaiba and Yami were about to grab Shanek's shoulders, before a huge explosion blew the 12 Millennium Hunters out of the river and onto the land. The Three Millennium Items, the Puzzle, the Rod, and the Orb shot three rays of white, gold, and silver into the Moon. Kaiba and Yami gasped, as the Moon's blue hue changed to the color of black and sent a black ray down to the river.
Shanek laughed menacingly, his eyes filled with madness. "You're too late Pharaoh!!!" He screamed, as Kaiba and Yami backed away from him, "The countdown to the World's Destruction has begun!!!"
"World's destruction?!" Yami yelled. The black ray shot itself to the Nile, as the water in the river disappeared until there was no water left. They were left standing on the river's bottom, with no water in sight.
The Millennium Hunters holding Tea, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, Mokuba, and Mr. Motto ran away in fright, knowing what was to happen. Together they all ran to the river bank, saying to them, "Yugi! Kaiba! GET OUT OF THERE!!!"
They did not listen, for the two men were not sure what to do, abandon Aura for their own lives, or to try to free her.
Joey and Tristan began to run to Yami and Kaiba, until Serenity and Mr. Motto stopped them.
"Hey! Let go! We've got to go and save them!" yelled Joey.
"You can't! You can't save them! It already begun!" Serenity yelled above the tumbling rocks. The Nile began to split, causing the rocks and sand to make much noise and chaos.
A dark crevasse appeared in the river, as a pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness.
"Come forth, LUCIAN!!!" Shanek screamed, as he held Aura's body up in the air.
The red eyes disappeared, and lingered in the darkness. Suddenly the body shot up, towering over the group of people. The Shadow Monster was huge, filled with darkness and despair. Everyone felt its wave of evil. The Shadow Monster's eyes squinted, looking at its surroundings.
Y. Bakura grinned, and said, "YES!!! IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!"
"THE SHELL, MY LORD!!!" Shanek said, bowing and slowly dropping Aura's body to the ground. He backed away, as Yami and Kaiba stared at the Monster's figure.
"You shall now feel Lucian's wrath, Pharaoh," Shanek said easily, as he passed Yami and Kaiba and walked over to Y. Bakura's side. "Now you shall feel the pain of despair and darkness."
Yami, not knowing what he meant, suddenly ran over to Aura, standing in front of her body, protecting her. Kaiba came forward also, the Millennium Rod in his hand.
"Go back to your own world, beast!" Yami yelled, the Millennium Symbol glowing on his forehead.
"We don't need your kind here, punk!" Kaiba yelled, the Millennium Symbol glowing on his forehead as well. Together they held up their Millennium Items and shot two rays of silver and gold toward the Shadow Monster. Now if Kaiba wasn't in this situation, he would have thought this was stupid. But this time, lives were at stake, and he knew it. So he followed along with Yami, determined to save the innocent lives.
The Monster did not feel it, in fact, it didn't even notice. It was focusing its attention toward Aura's mindless body, its red eyes filled with revenge.
Suddenly the Shadow Monster flew up into the air, and dove straight toward Aura's body. Aura's body reacted toward the action, as she shook and shivered, blood seeping out of her mouth.
"Aura!" both Yami and Kaiba screamed. The Monster kept on going, until then it suddenly disappeared, with Aura on the ground, covered with her own blood.
"What happened?!" Tea cried, as she saw Kaiba and Yami running toward Aura's body. Tea stepped forward, until Serenity stopped her. "What are you doing?" Tea asked.
Serenity didn't answer, but instead said, "Yugi! Kaiba! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Yami looked at her, not understanding. Kaiba noticed that both Shanek and Y. Bakura were gone.
"What in the world happened to her?" Kaiba asked, as they both stared at Aura.
"I don't know," Yami answered back.
They were silent, not knowing what to do. Then, at that moment, Kaiba touched her shoulder, saying to Yami, "Let's go."
Suddenly Aura's eyes shot open. Yami and Kaiba both gasped, backing away from her.
She sat up, her eyes now crimson and demon like. Aura stared at her hands, looking down at her white dress that was now red with blood. Her Millennium Orb was covered with blood, and Yami noticed that her fingers now grown claw-like.
"A-Aura?" stuttered Yami, uncertain.
Aura stood unsteadily, as if she did not stand all her life.
"Who is this Aura you speak of?" she said lazily, her voice twisted and dry. Suddenly, her hair was changing. It turned longer, reaching to her knees, and her hair was no longer black and gold, but a pearl white and gold. She looked at her surroundings, her blood colored eyes darting this way and that.
"Boy," she said, examining her hair, "What Millennium do we live in?"
"Aura, what in the world is-" Kaiba started, walking toward her. He was about a yard away from her, when her arm stretched and took Kaiba by the neck. Kaiba coughed, his body lifted off the ground.
"Listen to me when I speak mortal," she said, angry, "What is this century?"
"T-th-the 21st c-c-entu-ury!" Kaiba spluttered, strangled. She freed him from her grasp, as he fell on knees, coughing. Yami ran over to him, patting his back.
Aura, staring at her fingernails once more, finally put her gaze on Kaiba and Yami's faces. Yami and Kaiba stared back. Her eyes widened.
"Priest. . ." she hissed, as she squinted her eyes, "Pharaoh. . ."
"What have you done with Aura?!" Yami demanded, standing up as he helped Kaiba stand also.
The creature chuckled, its laugh like animals being tortured.
"You insolent fool," she said, setting her eyes toward them, "I am not this Aura you speak of, although her body shall suit me well in my conquest."
"Then w-who are you?" Kaiba asked angrily.
It laughed once more, as its dress, cape, and pearl white hair flew in the air.
"Have you no ears?" it sneered, "Very well, I shall repeat what that mortal had uttered."
The thing paused before saying, "I am Lucian, the Master of the Realm of Shadows."
Yami and Kaiba were silent, not sure of the meaning of its title. Lucian stared at Aura's body, or its shell.
"A human's body is weaker than I thought, considering the blood it spluttered is now on my new flesh." Lucian stated, squeezing the fabric. Blood seeped to the ground as the fabric was squeezed by its clawed hands.
"That human is our friend Aura, and she is no piece of clothing that you can throw away!" Yami yelled in anguish, as another ray of gold shot from the Millennium Puzzle toward Lucian.
Yawning, Lucian waved its hand, causing the ray to waver away to nothing.
"I thank you for freeing me Pharaoh," it said, as it backed away from them, "but I now shall take my leave, for some cleansing is needed." It crossed its arms, and suddenly dark shadows appeared from beneath it, causing Lucian to sink under.
"But before I leave, a warning in case you have an urge to stop me," Lucian stated lazily. It stuck out a finger toward the group of people. Suddenly the finger shifted and changed, its tip as sharp as a sword blade. The finger shot out and left the hand, coming toward Serenity.
"Serenity, look out!" yelled Mokuba, pushing her out of the arrow's way. Just as he did, the finger met Mokuba's flesh, right in the stomach. Mokuba cried in pain, blood seeping out of the wound. He fell, unconscious. The teenagers and Mr. Motto crowded around him in despair.
"MOKUBA!!!" Kaiba screamed. He turned to Lucian. "Lucian! What have you done?!" He demanded.
All Lucian did was grin, a lazy menacing grin. Slowly it sank down into the depths of the shadows, until it disappeared completely.
To Be Continued. . .
Dun Duun Duuuuunnn!!!!! Oh no! Poor Mokuba!!!! What will happen!!?? Well I guess you'll have to read the next chapter, wouldn't you?
Note to curious readers:
Now in the reviews that I had just received, you all think that Aura is dead. Hate to break it to ya, but she's not. All that happened to her was that her mind was sent in the shadow realm.
Some people were wondering when the Ritual took place. Well, I suggest you read over chapter 10, for in there explained the Ritual.