Disclaimer: Silver Moon Phoenix doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or the characters, Shadow Phoenix and Nick who are owned by Phoenix727.
Chapter 15: Battle 3 - The Return of Artemis
The others and I were getting near to our destination, and one step closer to Pluto. This entire mountain was covered in a nightly veil of darkness, to me it feels like the Shadow Realm. There were no signs of life to be seen since the sun seemed to never shine on Dark Mountain. All plant life was devoured by the darkness and the earth looked spoiled and dead. This mountain... I can sense an ancient evil aura being exuded, and it still hungers for me.
The night sky above us was cloudy, and it covered the moon and stars. If Artemis were here, nothing would seem scary at all to me. I can still feel the savage darkness surrounding my heart, but I won't let it deter my goal. What I didn't know, Artemis had plans of her own.
"How long must I wait for him?" Artemis said angrily.
She wasn't in a good mood as she laid her back to the cold walls of my soul room. Artemis tapped her right foot impatiently and sighed. Her staff was in her hand and finally the person she was waiting for came. The person was hiding beneath a cloak.
"Sorry, I'm late." the boy said. His brown eyes beamed at Artemis as he took off his cloak and revealed his brown hair. "I had some things to do that were very important."
"Nick, this is the fate of the world I'm talking about!" Artemis snapped.
"Relax, will ya. You have the ability to foresee the future." Nick assured. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans. Nick's black trench coat billowed as he threw the cloak onto the floor. Artemis couldn't help but notice that Nick wore the same color as Pluto, and Nick wasn't like him at all. "What's wrong?"
"Your clothes remind me of Pluto," Artemis answered, "and my powers of gazing at the future only come to me when the time is right."
"Then tell me what was very crucial that you couldn't explain it all to me before."
"I hope Phoenix is listening because I hate to say this but... Shadow Phoenix is here." Artemis began.
"How did he come back?" Nick asked furiously.
"Pluto brought him back from the Shadow Realm, and he killed Tristan and..." Artemis couldn't complete her sentence knowing that Nick would become upset.
"What else happened?" he urged her.
"Shadow Phoenix has the Millennium Rod and he used it to control Yugi. He made Yugi send Tea to the Shadow Realm!"
"I can't believe it!" Nick yelled out. "He made the one person I love go to the Shadow Realm!"
"Right now, Yugi is struggling to get away from the darkness, and I fear Shadow Phoenix must be defeated in order to accomplish this." Artemis explained. "I brought you here so you can help the others stop all this madness, and bring my elder brother back into the light..."
"What about you?" Nick questioned.
"I have other plans, and I want to deal with Luna who has already betrayed me!" Artemis's bluish-silver eyes gleamed with vengeance. "She will not get away from the crimes she has committed in the past and present!"
"Luna has been taken to the darkness! Now I see why you need my help." Nick concluded. "How am I to get back to the world of the living?"
"I hope you have a soul card since I will send you with a special power that will enable you to summon your own Ka." Artemis said. Nick smiled as he shown Artemis his favorite card. "Good luck."
"You too." Artemis began to chant an old incantation as Nick's body disappeared into the vortex of white light. Before leaving, he heard Artemis call out to him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can!" she said out loud as my Soul Room returned back into darkness.
We finally made it to Pluto's castle as a familiar face appeared in front of the entrance. Shadow Phoenix's red eyes glared at us once we approached him. His black trench coat waved in the wind and the Millennium Rod held tight in his hands.
"Looks like even Pluto's mutt wasn't strong enough to defeat you all." Shadow Phoenix spoke.
"You know, I had just enough of you!" Yukai yelled out. "You have caused too much pain to everyone, and I want the pleasure of finishing you off!" Yukai drew out his sword as his auburn eyes were filled with anger. Shadow Phoenix walked up to him and grinned evilly. Yukai wasn't backing down from his fight, and neither seemed Shadow Phoenix.
"Without that fool Nick around, I can easily thwart you all in a matter of minutes!" Shadow Phoenix said.
"Why you foul demon!" Nidoki replied loudly. "My younger brother will destroy you, let alone let you live in peace!"
"Yeah, you monster!" Mokuba cried out.
"You'll pay for killing Tristan!" Joey spat out.
"As soon as this is all over, you better bring Tea back!" I demanded.
"This maniac doesn't deserve to live since he killed Mokuba back when we encountered him before!" Kaiba shouted.
"We all will have our revenge, and we want you gone for good!" Atem said out loud.
Shadow Phoenix wasn't pleased about their outbursts, and he turned his direction towards Yukai. The guardian glared at him as he ready his sword for their battle. "Do you really think I can't fight with a sword, Yukai?" Shadow Phoenix asked.
"How should I know? I'm barely just getting to know you." Yukai replied.
"Well, I do know since I was born of Nick's dark influences during the time the runt and his friends were in that virtual reality world, and I know full well of Nick's fighting abilities." Shadow Phoenix explained.
"Then what are you waiting for? Draw your sword already!" Yukai said. He grinned with a hint of enjoyment on him.
"Fine!" Shadow Phoenix materialized his sword out of nowhere and he pointed at Yukai. "You'll regret ever facing me!"
"Before we fight, I want to say that the Millennium Rod was originally owned by me, and I'll soon have it back under my possession." Yukai muttered.
Shadow Phoenix swung his sword at Yukai, but the guardian managed to defend with his sword. Yukai seemed to have been playing fair with Shadow Phoenix since he didn't use his wings to fly to safety. The guardian quickly dodged another blow of Shadow Phoenix's sword. Yukai appeared behind him and knocked Shadow Phoenix's sword onto the ground.
"How did you do that?" Shadow Phoenix questioned.
"You see, I've been training myself for centuries before you even existed, and I can even fight without the reliance of my flying abilities." Yukai explained.
"You forgotten one thing!" Shadow Phoenix growled. Yukai's eyes widened. "I still have the Millennium Rod, and I still have control over Yugi!"
"Yugi, watch out!" Atem called out, but it was done in vain.
The Millennium Rod glowed and I could feel myself descending bacl into the darkness. I can't let Shadow Phoenix control me again! I have to walk into the light! Artemis would have wanted me to do this and I won't let her down!
I suddenly felt myself being lifted away from the darkness, and I noticed who it was. Artemis had come to my aid and carried me further into the light. She smiled at me as she succeeded in her task. Her silver wings glittered in the light as she took me back to my soul room. The darkness was no longer there, and I knew I must have prevailed over it. I faced Artemis who had tears falling from her eyes.
"Yugi, you did it!" she cried happily.
"But how?" I was perplexed. What did I do?
"Your determination to keep yourself in the light!" Artemis explained. "You wouldn't let yourself succumb to darkness as long as you had a purpose, and that was to find me."
"Now what happens?"
"Let me take over and deal with Shadow Phoenix once and for all! I hope Nick has arrived, and we can defeat him!" Artemis said.
"You're going to possess my body?" I bickered. "And Nick's here?"
"I got to. Luna took my body, and I need to get it back!" Artemis's eyes had a look of determination. "Don't worry. You'll get to see what is going to happen, unlike Atem did in the beginning and Nick has come to help us."
"Go for it!" I cheered, and Artemis disappeared from my Soul Room.
Artemis was right. She was allowing me to see what was taking place, and I also noticed Nick was there with my friends. Shadow Phoenix was shocked to see him.
"I thought you were still dead!" Shadow Phoenix yelled out.
"Artemis helped me out once again, and I believe she's here too." Nick replied.
"Nick's right, Shadow Phoenix!" Artemis spoke through me.
My friends had confused looks on their faces. Atem understood what was going on and Apollo seemed happy to see his beloved twin sister wasn't consumed by the darkness.
"Shadow Phoenix, you can't win, and now it's time for you to go back to the Shadow Realm!" Nick declared.
"How do you suppose to do that?" Shadow Phoenix argued.
"With our Ka." Artemis answered.
"Why didn't I think of that!" Yukai said. "I would like to show you mine before you depart from this world."
"I believe you know what my favorite card is too, Shadow Phoenix." Nick reminded.
Nick, Artemis and Yukai summoned their Ka, and they appeared beside their owners. Nick's Ka was a black-clad magician with a long black staff similar to the Dark Magician. It was the Magician of Black Chaos, which Atem used to defeat Pegasus back in Duelist Kingdom.
"My monster can destroy you, so you can't run away!" Nick taunted.
Artemis's Ka was a black dragon-like creature with a sword shaped like a crescent blade. The dragon had armor surrounding it, and it was different from the other Ka she summoned.
"Meet my favorite monster, Mikazukinoyaiba!" Artemis introduced.
"No way!" Kaiba yelled in surprise as he noticed Yukai's Ka.
The huge red, serpentine-like dragon hovered beside Yukai. It had a set of two jaws and its long wings flapped as it descended. This can't be, could it?
"This is my Ka, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Yukai said.
"Yukai can control this monster and he sent it to Egypt to protect the Pharaohs from danger." Nidoki explained.
Slifer roared at Shadow Phoenix, and he seemed to fear the power of an Egyptian God card. Then could Pluto's Ka be one of the other remaining Egyptian Gods? If it is, we all might be in trouble.
"Magician of Black Chaos, attack!" Nick ordered.
"Mikazukinoyaiba, attack!" Artemis commanded.
"Slifer, eliminate Shadow Phoenix!" Yukai yelled out.
All three monsters attacked, and Shadow Phoenix was hit. He looked at us enraged before falling to his knees on the ground. His eyes began to twitch irritably, and he gazed at Artemis, Nick and Yukai with anger. His body began to disappear as he was vanishing back to the Shadow Realm.
"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" Shadow Phoenix shouted as he finally disappeared, leaving the Millennium Rod behind.
Yukai went over and picked up the item. The three Ka vanished as I took control of my body once more. I smiled at Artemis as she returned into her spirit form. I nearly collapsed to the ground if Nick hadn't helped me. He seemed tired as well.
"He's gone but for how long?" Nick whispered.
The others came towards us, all of them cheerful except for Kaiba who had his arms crossed. Atem was relieved that Artemis was still alive as was Apollo. Yukai rushed over to me with a concern look on his face.
"Once you get use to summoning your Ka, you won't feel this exhausted." Yukai assured me and Nick.
"I guess I should introduce myself, I'm Nick." Nick said. "Shadow Phoenix is my evil half and I'm sorry for all the damage he has done."
"No need for that, Nick." Artemis replied. He looked up at her. "I should be the one to say I'm sorry since Tea and Tristan are gone..."
"I fear Pluto may use them to his advantage." Yukai said sadly. "He's done it before in the past, I'm sure he'll do it again."
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
"He can bring anyone who is dead or sent to the Shadow Realm back, and turn them evil." Apollo warned.
"Let's not worry ourselves with this." Artemis replied. "What's more important is that we have to go through Luna and get my body back! I want the delight of sending her to the Shadow Realm!"
"We're glad you've returned back to the light, Yugi." Yukai said proudly.
We began heading to the huge doors of the castle. No matter what awaits us beyond those doors, nothing will not stop us from facing you, Pluto! Now with Nick by our side, we will end your sick plan and get back my Millennium Puzzle!