The Millennium Ritual
Chapter 25: When Things Go To Far
The heart monitor linked up to Kaiba's body started to beep fast. Yami and the others looked up from their magazines and food, wondering what the commotion was about. As their eyes laid on the monitor, Yami's eyes began to widen.
"Oh my god," whispered Tea, setting her magazine down and running out the door.
"Someone, call a doctor! Fast!" yelled Joey, as they all crowded around the CEO. Kaiba shook a little from the machines equipped to him. A single drop of blood started to form on his hand.
'What's going on, Yami?' Yugi asked quickly through mind link.
'I don't know.'
Suddenly Tea came back, dragging a doctor into the room.
"Over here!" she cried, as the Egyptian doctor came to one side of the bed. A nurse came also, with another set of equipment for situations like these.
Slowly they did their work, fully aware of what was to happen.
Kaiba was going to awaken from the coma.
______________________________________________________________
About 5 or so minutes later, the doctors were done. All stared at Kaiba, wondering why he was not waking up.
"What is taking the lad so long, doctor?" asked the Healer. The doctor was silent.
"We just wait. It is usually the patient's decision if they would want to wake up or not," the Egyptian said so everyone could understand.
So the doctor clapped his hands, saying, "Well, my work here is done, if any problems shall turn up, please come to me or any other doctor in the building." And so, with the nurse following close by, they walked out of the room and closed the door.
Then, as if waiting for the doctor to leave, Kaiba opened his eyes, sitting up with wide eyes, coughing.
"Kaiba! You're awake!" Yami exclaimed, as they all crowded around him once more.
"W-where am I. . .?" Kaiba asked, eyes grave.
"In the hospital, man. When you touched that book, it gave out a huge explosion, and it knocked you out." Tristan explained.
"Mokuba," the patient said slowly, "Mokuba. Is he alright?!"
"He's just fine, in fact, he is right beside you." Yami said, pointing to the bed beside him. Kaiba turned his head, to see his brother sleeping happily.
He sighed in relief. "Thank god," Kaiba murmured.
"What in the world has happened, Seto? Why in the world did the stone explode?!" the Healer asked, concerned.
Kaiba didn't hear, for he remembered what happened just a few moments ago.
~*~ Flashback~*~
But Lucian didn't answer. He stuck out two fingers, as they slowly turned into an arrow. It launched out of his hand, as it headed straight for Kaiba's stomach.
"Noo!!"
The little girl jumped into the arrows' path, as they both made contact with her heart. Kaiba stared in disbelief as Aura slowly turned from a seven year old, to the 17 year old girl she was now. Her outfit was exactly the same as Maeve's, only a black color. The small bang of gold hair hanging on her forehead was stained with blood. Aura staggered backwards, as she turned her head toward Kaiba.
"S-Seto. . .? It. . . It hurts. . ."
~*~
Kaiba didn't realize the full meaning of what happened before, until now.
"Oh no. . ." he said, eyes widening. Everyone stared at him with concern.
"What's wrong, Kaiba?" asked Yami.
"She's gone," he said.
"Who is?" Tea asked him.
Kaiba didn't answer, for he realized that he was the cause of her death. That he, the Seto Kaiba, was the cause of a little girl's death.
"Aura's gone. She dead," Kaiba said suddenly.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as it slowly sank in to their brains.
__________________________________________________________________ Flashback * Party at Shields Mansion * 6 years ago * Kaiba's POV
"You are Gozaburo's new sons, aren't you?" a small girl asked me and Mokuba. I stared at her disbelievingly.
"And who would like to know?" I muttered, as Mokuba hid behind me. The girl ignored me, and walked up to Mokuba. I turned my head to see what she would do.
The girl, taking her skirts and slowly sitting down on the ground, asked Mokuba quietly, "You must be Mokuba." My little brother nodded quickly, trying to hide from her.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said softly, holding out her hand, "My name is Aura. Aura Riordan. My father owns Shields Enterprises. You should be proud. Your Step-Father is a good and rich businessman."
I snorted, as she turned to me with an unimpressed look. "And you must be Seto, the boy genius."
"And how do you know that girl?" I sneered.
"Well, this party IS dedicated to the new sons of Gozaburo Kaiba."
That kept my mouth shut.
Turning her attention toward Mokuba, she asked softly, "Do you want to play for a while?" Mokuba, hesitant, nodded, and looked up to me. I snorted, and shrugged.
Her face blank, Aura said, "Alright then, lets go." She turned toward the ballroom the adults were in, as her light violet dress rippled behind her. "Follow me."
We followed.
________________________________________________________________________
We crisscrossed in and out of the groups of adults, bowing and saying hi every now and then to some important people. I noticed that our path seemed to avoid Gozaburo and her father, Mr. Shields. When we finally reached the end of the ballroom, we stepped into the kitchens to where the servants were.
Above the muffled shouts and orders, Aura yelled, "This way!" and continued on forward. Annoyed, I was hesitant to follow, but with Mokuba's eagerness to leave the ballroom, I continued on anyway.
I guess the servants were accustomed to Aura's visits, since they let her pass and even asked if she would like anything.
After what seemed like a decade, we finally got out of the kitchen, with Mokuba eating a spicy chicken wing. I held his hand tightly as we walked up to the strange girl with the tanned skin.
"Well? Where are we?" I demanded. She put a finger to her lips, making a shushing sound. Motioning us forward, she pushed on a certain part of the wall.
The bookcase slowly turned, revealing a secret room. Aura went into it, and motioned us to follow. Mokuba, now putting his trust on her, followed happily, while he dragged me behind. The hidden door shut behind us as we stared at our surroundings.
It was a small circular room, with a small window to one side and a few chairs here and there. A rug was placed in the center, as the girl turned on the light. We looked up to see a small chandelier hanging above us.
Aura sighed as she fell backward into a cushioned chair, saying, "Finally." She loosened the skirt around her waist to make breathing easier. She motioned us to do the same, and we gladly did. As we threw the ties and jackets to the floor, we all threw ourselves on the pillows on the floor.
"Now that we are finally out of that of that ghastly room," Aura said, revealing a small accent, "We can talk about more important things."
"You, I noticed something about you. . ." I muttered.
"Oh really? What?"
"You're not Japanese, right? You're adopted like us, right?" Mokuba asked for me, still eating the chicken wing. She shook her head.
"Not exactly. Mr. Shields is really my father, but my mother. . ." Aura said quietly, looking away, "died, a few years ago. With my younger brother, as well."
I looked up suddenly, thinking she's been through the same thing we had. 'Finally, someone to talk to.' I thought.
"My mother was not Japanese though. She was an Egyptian, and I lived most of my life there. It was only when my mother and my younger brother died did I move to Domino." Aura continued.
But Mokuba looked sad. "Your Mom AND your brother died?" He asked, looking at me, "I'm kinda ok with Mommy and Dad gone, but if Seto left, I wouldn't know what to do."
I looked at him with gratitude, because I felt the same way, but as I stared at the half Japanese and half Egyptian, Aura looked sad. I figured that she wished she could have had the same bond with her brother, if he wasn't dead.
Her face turning back to its blank mask, she said, "Watch out for Gozaburo."
I looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"
"You just got here, right?"
"Right."
"That means you don't know what's going to happen."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her.
"Look, the people here are vile creatures, not caring about anyone but themselves and their stupid idiotic companies."
I was stunned. She was referring to the people her father worked with.
"My father and your step-father are the worst of them. In fact," Aura turned her head, ashamed, "I HATE my father. He never, EVER tried to help my mother and my brother and I back in Egypt. He just forgot about us and put his attention toward his stupid company. He cares about his inventions more than he cares about his family!" I saw she was trying very hard to control her anger. "I would have rather died with my REAL family than be stuck with this madman."
Suddenly Aura turned her head toward me. "You must be careful with Kaiba, Seto. He is even madder than my father. If you let your guard down once, you'll be sucked into his plan for Kaiba Corp."
That was when she turned her head away from me, as her face was engulfed in the shadows. "Remember what I said," she muttered, "Or you'll regret it."
____________________________________________________________
Kaiba explained what happened to only Yami and the Healer, thinking that only they would understand. As the rest of the group stood outside the room, Yami and the Healer slowly sank in the information.
"You. . . You've met my sister," Yami said slowly, as if not believing it himself. "I forgot about her in all this commotion. Is she alright?" Kaiba nodded.
"I can't believe Lucian would kill her KA," the Healer said, "Even shadow monsters have enough respect to preserve the ka of their victims."
"Apparently this one didn't mind at all." Said Yami angrily, pounding his fist on the counter, "Now she's gone."
"We've got to do something, fast," Kaiba said, "Lucian said that he's going to use me to help him. Somehow."
"But what can we do? Aura was the one who knew what was to happen, and now she's gone, her ka shattered." Yami stated.
They were all silent.
But Yami couldn't take this anymore. It was as if history was repeating itself, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"I've got to get out of here." Yami muttered, storming out the door. His friends were telling him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Yami knew he had no control over anything anymore. He wasn't Pharaoh anymore.
He was just a commoner.
______________________________________________________________
Lucian grinned as he felt the Pharaoh's anger. 'So you have finally cracked, have you Pharaoh?' He thought, holding onto the shoulder of a hooded woman.
"Is everything in place?" asked Lucian, as his Egyptian attire clinked together.
Y. Bakura nodded. "All is ready," he said.
Giving a signal, Shanek signaled to his Millennium Hunters forward, as they all stepped up in front of the Shadow Monster. There must have been over a hundred Millennium Hunters in command of Lucian.
But he was unimpressed.
"Is this all you have?" Lucian asked, as his ponytail (an attempt to look manlier) swished in the wind.
"I've assembled as many as I could have, Master," Shanek replied, as the Millennium Hunters all bowed down in unison.
Lucian snorted, as he held the hooded woman tightly. "Amunet can do better than that," He said, smirking at the woman, "can you?"
The woman nodded in response.
"Now," Lucian said, smiling, "I shall take the ka of the Millennium Hunters to make my transformation complete."
He raised his hands high in the air, murmuring words of a dark and ugly language. The woman looked on, as Shanek and Y. Bakura lit the ritual fires.
The Millennium Hunters, unaware of what's happening, looked around franticly. Some even tried to leave, but was only stopped by an invisible wall, made by the woman named Amunet.
Suddenly black shadows sprang out of Lucian's body, sucking in the ka of the Millennium Hunters. They ran in horror, but it proved unsuccessful, for they were stopped by the wall. Each shadow ate the Millennium Hunters' ka, until all that was left was a pile of dead men.
As the shadows went into Lucian's mouth, his body soon changed shape. His womanly figure disappeared, and in place of it was a manly one. The markings on his face remained, as his face slowly changed, his ears as pointy as an elf's, his long pearl white hair shredding away any golden strands of hair. White bangs appeared on his face, floating above his demon like eyes.
If there was any sign of Aura's body being over taken by a Shadow Monster, it did not show. Instead, a man stood in place of it, grinning harder than anyone has ever had before. Lucian chuckled.
"At last. . ." He said, staring into his hands, "I am free of that woman's body!" Lucian looked up to the sky. "And I have you to thank Priest."
He turned his attention toward Shanek and Y. Bakura, their mouths close to dropping. "Never had I felt so much power. You two have done well." Lucian said. He patted down his Egyptian robes, then taking the Millennium Rod in his hand and holding the Millennium Orb in the other, he turned toward Amunet.
Placing the Millennium Orb around her neck, he told her, "You have done well, my lotus flower. You have done stupendous work. Now, as my gift to you, you can move your body as you command, speak your voice, anything." He held her chin in his hand. "You have deserved it."
"Now go to the city of Egypt, and find the Pharaoh and Priest and bring them to me. Kill anyone who gets in your way." Lucian ordered.
"Yes," Amunet muttered, "yes Master. . . My lord Lucian. . ."
_________________________________________________________________
Yami walked out into the streets, kicking the sand out of his way. He bit his lip, thinking about his sister.
'Maeve. . . I'm so sorry. . . I couldn't protect you or Aura from Lucian. . .' He thought, hands in his pockets.
Shoulders heavy with guilt, he continued on, remembering all that Maeve taught him.
"To proceed on to the future, you must forget your past."
"In the times of war, there is no such thing as friends, family, or foe. There is only the honor of your heart."
As he repeated these quotes in his head, Yami suddenly heard a scream. Eyes widening, he noticed it was from the hospital. Quickly he ran, turning this way and that, ignoring the merchants' demands.
As he turned the corner, he heard a sword slash, and another scream.
Suddenly Yami saw blood on the walls, as the Egyptians ran away in horror. Finally he made it to the hospital, and he saw his friends outside, and Kaiba fully dressed.
"Yugi! Where the heck were you?!" Kaiba yelled, as Yami came up to them.
"What happened?" Yami asked, but his friends didn't have to answer.
A hooded woman was walking slowly toward them, with two swords stained with blood, one in each hand. The Millennium Orb glowed brightly on her neck.
'The Millennium Orb?' thought Yami.
Men armed with rifles came quickly, and in a crouching position, shot bullets to her. Tea, Joey, and Tristan gaped at what they were doing.
Throwing the two swords in the air, the woman stopped and flipped into the air, dodging the bullets. She grinned as she fell to the ground with a thud. Now it was the solders' turn to gape.
She curled her fingers into a fist, as the rifles curled and fell into pieces as the solders stared in disbelief. Kaiba, Yami and The Healer did as well.
Then, giving the gunmen an inappropriate hand gesture, she took the two swords out of the air and ran toward them, slashing three of the solders heads off and killing the rest with a single slash. The three heads rolled to the group of friends, as blood trailed everywhere with Tea and the Healer screaming.
Withdrawing the swords to her side, she walked up to them slowly. Yami and Kaiba protected Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the Healer as the woman slowly stood face to face with them.
"What do you want?" Yami ordered, as his friends quickly ducked behind him.
The woman didn't answer, as she said slowly, "You. . ."
"Why do you have Aura's necklace?!" ordered Kaiba angrily.
She didn't say anything, as she threw the two blood stained swords away. Yami and Kaiba were dumbfounded as the woman reached up and slowly stroked the locket on Kaiba's neck. The assassin pulled it off, opened it, and showed it to Kaiba.
"If. . . You do not. . . Cooperate. . . He shall suffer. . . The same fate. . . The solders did. . ." The woman said slowly, pointing to Mokuba's picture. Kaiba's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't. . ." He said.
Yami noticed a solder, bleeding to death, slowly creep up behind the hooded woman, with a dagger in his hand. He raised it high in the air, ready to strike.
The woman was quicker though, as she summoned the sword she used to her side, and struck the solder behind her. He coughed, and reached out his hand to hold on to something, and that something was the woman's hood.
As the solder fell to the ground, Yami and Kaiba gasped at the woman's appearance. And as Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the Healer stared at her face, they gasped also.
The assassin was Aura, with her black hair tied in a high ponytail and her four golden locks of hair on her shoulders to her chest. Her attire changed to a leather jumpsuit, with daggers and swords and other weapons on her belt. Her cape billowed in the wind. Her Millennium Orb glowed slightly.
"Aura?!" Yami yelled in surprise.
"This is impossible! You. . . You died. . . I saw you die!" Kaiba cried, stepping away.
"My. . . Name. . . is not. . . Aura. . ." Aura whispered, "My name. . . is. . . Amunet. . . Loyal servant of Lucian. . . Future ruler of this pathetic world. . ."
Kaiba and Yami backed away, as Aura continued to say,
"And I have come to take you as my prisoners."
To Be Continued. . .
Hoo- YA! I'm over chapter 25! Who da bomb?! Well, anywho, this is the 25 chapter. How is Aura alive again, you say?! Find out in the next chapter of The Millennium Ritual. Review too!
Thanks to my loyal reviewers
The Silent Reaper (Gives me good advice.)
Kristine (I always look forward to your reviews.)
Huh? Oh (SOOO FUNNY!)
Chapter 25: When Things Go To Far
The heart monitor linked up to Kaiba's body started to beep fast. Yami and the others looked up from their magazines and food, wondering what the commotion was about. As their eyes laid on the monitor, Yami's eyes began to widen.
"Oh my god," whispered Tea, setting her magazine down and running out the door.
"Someone, call a doctor! Fast!" yelled Joey, as they all crowded around the CEO. Kaiba shook a little from the machines equipped to him. A single drop of blood started to form on his hand.
'What's going on, Yami?' Yugi asked quickly through mind link.
'I don't know.'
Suddenly Tea came back, dragging a doctor into the room.
"Over here!" she cried, as the Egyptian doctor came to one side of the bed. A nurse came also, with another set of equipment for situations like these.
Slowly they did their work, fully aware of what was to happen.
Kaiba was going to awaken from the coma.
______________________________________________________________
About 5 or so minutes later, the doctors were done. All stared at Kaiba, wondering why he was not waking up.
"What is taking the lad so long, doctor?" asked the Healer. The doctor was silent.
"We just wait. It is usually the patient's decision if they would want to wake up or not," the Egyptian said so everyone could understand.
So the doctor clapped his hands, saying, "Well, my work here is done, if any problems shall turn up, please come to me or any other doctor in the building." And so, with the nurse following close by, they walked out of the room and closed the door.
Then, as if waiting for the doctor to leave, Kaiba opened his eyes, sitting up with wide eyes, coughing.
"Kaiba! You're awake!" Yami exclaimed, as they all crowded around him once more.
"W-where am I. . .?" Kaiba asked, eyes grave.
"In the hospital, man. When you touched that book, it gave out a huge explosion, and it knocked you out." Tristan explained.
"Mokuba," the patient said slowly, "Mokuba. Is he alright?!"
"He's just fine, in fact, he is right beside you." Yami said, pointing to the bed beside him. Kaiba turned his head, to see his brother sleeping happily.
He sighed in relief. "Thank god," Kaiba murmured.
"What in the world has happened, Seto? Why in the world did the stone explode?!" the Healer asked, concerned.
Kaiba didn't hear, for he remembered what happened just a few moments ago.
~*~ Flashback~*~
But Lucian didn't answer. He stuck out two fingers, as they slowly turned into an arrow. It launched out of his hand, as it headed straight for Kaiba's stomach.
"Noo!!"
The little girl jumped into the arrows' path, as they both made contact with her heart. Kaiba stared in disbelief as Aura slowly turned from a seven year old, to the 17 year old girl she was now. Her outfit was exactly the same as Maeve's, only a black color. The small bang of gold hair hanging on her forehead was stained with blood. Aura staggered backwards, as she turned her head toward Kaiba.
"S-Seto. . .? It. . . It hurts. . ."
~*~
Kaiba didn't realize the full meaning of what happened before, until now.
"Oh no. . ." he said, eyes widening. Everyone stared at him with concern.
"What's wrong, Kaiba?" asked Yami.
"She's gone," he said.
"Who is?" Tea asked him.
Kaiba didn't answer, for he realized that he was the cause of her death. That he, the Seto Kaiba, was the cause of a little girl's death.
"Aura's gone. She dead," Kaiba said suddenly.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as it slowly sank in to their brains.
__________________________________________________________________ Flashback * Party at Shields Mansion * 6 years ago * Kaiba's POV
"You are Gozaburo's new sons, aren't you?" a small girl asked me and Mokuba. I stared at her disbelievingly.
"And who would like to know?" I muttered, as Mokuba hid behind me. The girl ignored me, and walked up to Mokuba. I turned my head to see what she would do.
The girl, taking her skirts and slowly sitting down on the ground, asked Mokuba quietly, "You must be Mokuba." My little brother nodded quickly, trying to hide from her.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said softly, holding out her hand, "My name is Aura. Aura Riordan. My father owns Shields Enterprises. You should be proud. Your Step-Father is a good and rich businessman."
I snorted, as she turned to me with an unimpressed look. "And you must be Seto, the boy genius."
"And how do you know that girl?" I sneered.
"Well, this party IS dedicated to the new sons of Gozaburo Kaiba."
That kept my mouth shut.
Turning her attention toward Mokuba, she asked softly, "Do you want to play for a while?" Mokuba, hesitant, nodded, and looked up to me. I snorted, and shrugged.
Her face blank, Aura said, "Alright then, lets go." She turned toward the ballroom the adults were in, as her light violet dress rippled behind her. "Follow me."
We followed.
________________________________________________________________________
We crisscrossed in and out of the groups of adults, bowing and saying hi every now and then to some important people. I noticed that our path seemed to avoid Gozaburo and her father, Mr. Shields. When we finally reached the end of the ballroom, we stepped into the kitchens to where the servants were.
Above the muffled shouts and orders, Aura yelled, "This way!" and continued on forward. Annoyed, I was hesitant to follow, but with Mokuba's eagerness to leave the ballroom, I continued on anyway.
I guess the servants were accustomed to Aura's visits, since they let her pass and even asked if she would like anything.
After what seemed like a decade, we finally got out of the kitchen, with Mokuba eating a spicy chicken wing. I held his hand tightly as we walked up to the strange girl with the tanned skin.
"Well? Where are we?" I demanded. She put a finger to her lips, making a shushing sound. Motioning us forward, she pushed on a certain part of the wall.
The bookcase slowly turned, revealing a secret room. Aura went into it, and motioned us to follow. Mokuba, now putting his trust on her, followed happily, while he dragged me behind. The hidden door shut behind us as we stared at our surroundings.
It was a small circular room, with a small window to one side and a few chairs here and there. A rug was placed in the center, as the girl turned on the light. We looked up to see a small chandelier hanging above us.
Aura sighed as she fell backward into a cushioned chair, saying, "Finally." She loosened the skirt around her waist to make breathing easier. She motioned us to do the same, and we gladly did. As we threw the ties and jackets to the floor, we all threw ourselves on the pillows on the floor.
"Now that we are finally out of that of that ghastly room," Aura said, revealing a small accent, "We can talk about more important things."
"You, I noticed something about you. . ." I muttered.
"Oh really? What?"
"You're not Japanese, right? You're adopted like us, right?" Mokuba asked for me, still eating the chicken wing. She shook her head.
"Not exactly. Mr. Shields is really my father, but my mother. . ." Aura said quietly, looking away, "died, a few years ago. With my younger brother, as well."
I looked up suddenly, thinking she's been through the same thing we had. 'Finally, someone to talk to.' I thought.
"My mother was not Japanese though. She was an Egyptian, and I lived most of my life there. It was only when my mother and my younger brother died did I move to Domino." Aura continued.
But Mokuba looked sad. "Your Mom AND your brother died?" He asked, looking at me, "I'm kinda ok with Mommy and Dad gone, but if Seto left, I wouldn't know what to do."
I looked at him with gratitude, because I felt the same way, but as I stared at the half Japanese and half Egyptian, Aura looked sad. I figured that she wished she could have had the same bond with her brother, if he wasn't dead.
Her face turning back to its blank mask, she said, "Watch out for Gozaburo."
I looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"
"You just got here, right?"
"Right."
"That means you don't know what's going to happen."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her.
"Look, the people here are vile creatures, not caring about anyone but themselves and their stupid idiotic companies."
I was stunned. She was referring to the people her father worked with.
"My father and your step-father are the worst of them. In fact," Aura turned her head, ashamed, "I HATE my father. He never, EVER tried to help my mother and my brother and I back in Egypt. He just forgot about us and put his attention toward his stupid company. He cares about his inventions more than he cares about his family!" I saw she was trying very hard to control her anger. "I would have rather died with my REAL family than be stuck with this madman."
Suddenly Aura turned her head toward me. "You must be careful with Kaiba, Seto. He is even madder than my father. If you let your guard down once, you'll be sucked into his plan for Kaiba Corp."
That was when she turned her head away from me, as her face was engulfed in the shadows. "Remember what I said," she muttered, "Or you'll regret it."
____________________________________________________________
Kaiba explained what happened to only Yami and the Healer, thinking that only they would understand. As the rest of the group stood outside the room, Yami and the Healer slowly sank in the information.
"You. . . You've met my sister," Yami said slowly, as if not believing it himself. "I forgot about her in all this commotion. Is she alright?" Kaiba nodded.
"I can't believe Lucian would kill her KA," the Healer said, "Even shadow monsters have enough respect to preserve the ka of their victims."
"Apparently this one didn't mind at all." Said Yami angrily, pounding his fist on the counter, "Now she's gone."
"We've got to do something, fast," Kaiba said, "Lucian said that he's going to use me to help him. Somehow."
"But what can we do? Aura was the one who knew what was to happen, and now she's gone, her ka shattered." Yami stated.
They were all silent.
But Yami couldn't take this anymore. It was as if history was repeating itself, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"I've got to get out of here." Yami muttered, storming out the door. His friends were telling him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Yami knew he had no control over anything anymore. He wasn't Pharaoh anymore.
He was just a commoner.
______________________________________________________________
Lucian grinned as he felt the Pharaoh's anger. 'So you have finally cracked, have you Pharaoh?' He thought, holding onto the shoulder of a hooded woman.
"Is everything in place?" asked Lucian, as his Egyptian attire clinked together.
Y. Bakura nodded. "All is ready," he said.
Giving a signal, Shanek signaled to his Millennium Hunters forward, as they all stepped up in front of the Shadow Monster. There must have been over a hundred Millennium Hunters in command of Lucian.
But he was unimpressed.
"Is this all you have?" Lucian asked, as his ponytail (an attempt to look manlier) swished in the wind.
"I've assembled as many as I could have, Master," Shanek replied, as the Millennium Hunters all bowed down in unison.
Lucian snorted, as he held the hooded woman tightly. "Amunet can do better than that," He said, smirking at the woman, "can you?"
The woman nodded in response.
"Now," Lucian said, smiling, "I shall take the ka of the Millennium Hunters to make my transformation complete."
He raised his hands high in the air, murmuring words of a dark and ugly language. The woman looked on, as Shanek and Y. Bakura lit the ritual fires.
The Millennium Hunters, unaware of what's happening, looked around franticly. Some even tried to leave, but was only stopped by an invisible wall, made by the woman named Amunet.
Suddenly black shadows sprang out of Lucian's body, sucking in the ka of the Millennium Hunters. They ran in horror, but it proved unsuccessful, for they were stopped by the wall. Each shadow ate the Millennium Hunters' ka, until all that was left was a pile of dead men.
As the shadows went into Lucian's mouth, his body soon changed shape. His womanly figure disappeared, and in place of it was a manly one. The markings on his face remained, as his face slowly changed, his ears as pointy as an elf's, his long pearl white hair shredding away any golden strands of hair. White bangs appeared on his face, floating above his demon like eyes.
If there was any sign of Aura's body being over taken by a Shadow Monster, it did not show. Instead, a man stood in place of it, grinning harder than anyone has ever had before. Lucian chuckled.
"At last. . ." He said, staring into his hands, "I am free of that woman's body!" Lucian looked up to the sky. "And I have you to thank Priest."
He turned his attention toward Shanek and Y. Bakura, their mouths close to dropping. "Never had I felt so much power. You two have done well." Lucian said. He patted down his Egyptian robes, then taking the Millennium Rod in his hand and holding the Millennium Orb in the other, he turned toward Amunet.
Placing the Millennium Orb around her neck, he told her, "You have done well, my lotus flower. You have done stupendous work. Now, as my gift to you, you can move your body as you command, speak your voice, anything." He held her chin in his hand. "You have deserved it."
"Now go to the city of Egypt, and find the Pharaoh and Priest and bring them to me. Kill anyone who gets in your way." Lucian ordered.
"Yes," Amunet muttered, "yes Master. . . My lord Lucian. . ."
_________________________________________________________________
Yami walked out into the streets, kicking the sand out of his way. He bit his lip, thinking about his sister.
'Maeve. . . I'm so sorry. . . I couldn't protect you or Aura from Lucian. . .' He thought, hands in his pockets.
Shoulders heavy with guilt, he continued on, remembering all that Maeve taught him.
"To proceed on to the future, you must forget your past."
"In the times of war, there is no such thing as friends, family, or foe. There is only the honor of your heart."
As he repeated these quotes in his head, Yami suddenly heard a scream. Eyes widening, he noticed it was from the hospital. Quickly he ran, turning this way and that, ignoring the merchants' demands.
As he turned the corner, he heard a sword slash, and another scream.
Suddenly Yami saw blood on the walls, as the Egyptians ran away in horror. Finally he made it to the hospital, and he saw his friends outside, and Kaiba fully dressed.
"Yugi! Where the heck were you?!" Kaiba yelled, as Yami came up to them.
"What happened?" Yami asked, but his friends didn't have to answer.
A hooded woman was walking slowly toward them, with two swords stained with blood, one in each hand. The Millennium Orb glowed brightly on her neck.
'The Millennium Orb?' thought Yami.
Men armed with rifles came quickly, and in a crouching position, shot bullets to her. Tea, Joey, and Tristan gaped at what they were doing.
Throwing the two swords in the air, the woman stopped and flipped into the air, dodging the bullets. She grinned as she fell to the ground with a thud. Now it was the solders' turn to gape.
She curled her fingers into a fist, as the rifles curled and fell into pieces as the solders stared in disbelief. Kaiba, Yami and The Healer did as well.
Then, giving the gunmen an inappropriate hand gesture, she took the two swords out of the air and ran toward them, slashing three of the solders heads off and killing the rest with a single slash. The three heads rolled to the group of friends, as blood trailed everywhere with Tea and the Healer screaming.
Withdrawing the swords to her side, she walked up to them slowly. Yami and Kaiba protected Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the Healer as the woman slowly stood face to face with them.
"What do you want?" Yami ordered, as his friends quickly ducked behind him.
The woman didn't answer, as she said slowly, "You. . ."
"Why do you have Aura's necklace?!" ordered Kaiba angrily.
She didn't say anything, as she threw the two blood stained swords away. Yami and Kaiba were dumbfounded as the woman reached up and slowly stroked the locket on Kaiba's neck. The assassin pulled it off, opened it, and showed it to Kaiba.
"If. . . You do not. . . Cooperate. . . He shall suffer. . . The same fate. . . The solders did. . ." The woman said slowly, pointing to Mokuba's picture. Kaiba's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't. . ." He said.
Yami noticed a solder, bleeding to death, slowly creep up behind the hooded woman, with a dagger in his hand. He raised it high in the air, ready to strike.
The woman was quicker though, as she summoned the sword she used to her side, and struck the solder behind her. He coughed, and reached out his hand to hold on to something, and that something was the woman's hood.
As the solder fell to the ground, Yami and Kaiba gasped at the woman's appearance. And as Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the Healer stared at her face, they gasped also.
The assassin was Aura, with her black hair tied in a high ponytail and her four golden locks of hair on her shoulders to her chest. Her attire changed to a leather jumpsuit, with daggers and swords and other weapons on her belt. Her cape billowed in the wind. Her Millennium Orb glowed slightly.
"Aura?!" Yami yelled in surprise.
"This is impossible! You. . . You died. . . I saw you die!" Kaiba cried, stepping away.
"My. . . Name. . . is not. . . Aura. . ." Aura whispered, "My name. . . is. . . Amunet. . . Loyal servant of Lucian. . . Future ruler of this pathetic world. . ."
Kaiba and Yami backed away, as Aura continued to say,
"And I have come to take you as my prisoners."
To Be Continued. . .
Hoo- YA! I'm over chapter 25! Who da bomb?! Well, anywho, this is the 25 chapter. How is Aura alive again, you say?! Find out in the next chapter of The Millennium Ritual. Review too!
Thanks to my loyal reviewers
The Silent Reaper (Gives me good advice.)
Kristine (I always look forward to your reviews.)
Huh? Oh (SOOO FUNNY!)