Author's Notes: I don't have much to say except here's Chapter 3.
Chapter 3: Bitter Rivalry! The Legend of the Millennium Dragons
After our encounter with one of the members of the Final Five, everyone, even the Guardians weren't acting as their usual selves. As I followed the others back indoors, I couldn't help but wonder if I should comfort Tea since Nick was not around. Yet, I felt that I must talk to the Guardians myself and try to find my answers.
I continued walking and went inside the house. My friends were silent as I saw my new surroundings. The second house the Guardians lived in was a lot bigger than the other one, and it had similar structures to it as well. I marveled at the classy designs, and the Guardians entered the spacious living room. My friends and I sat down on one of the leather couches as the Guardians sat on the other couch across from us.
I could tell they were still upset about what had just occurred, but I felt someone else was also here. I looked around to confirm my suspicions and nothing seemed to be out of place. My eyes caught a strange shadow that began to materialize right in front of us. Suddenly appearing from the shadows were five figures that looked familiar.
"Where have you all been?" Uranus asked angrily.
Pluto approached him, and he was no longer in Guardian form. He was instead in human form. His black trench coat waved as he met face-to-face with Uranus. Yukai appeared behind him, and he was wearing the same clothes he wore when we first met him. Followed by Yukai were Orpheus, Apollo and Forseti and they too were no longer in their Guardian form.
"You dare question where I have been?" Pluto scolded. "There were things that have to be done before anything else could go wrong!"
"Sure!" Uranus began. "If you haven't noticed, Artemis is badly injured and she's in critical condition!"
"Where's Nick?" Yukai interrupted, noticing one of us missing. We all looked at him sadly, and he seemed to have gotten the message. He turned to face Pluto and Uranus. "If you must know where we were, then I'll tell you," Yukai offered. "We were at the Forgotten Tomb, and fortunately Pluto was able to decipher the ancient legend told in the writing."
"Haven't you noticed we have to rescue Nick!" Tea cried out as she appeared.
"That mortal got caught..." Jupiter said sadly. She must have followed Tea back here.
"How do you know?" I questioned.
"Before... before Artemis fell into a coma, she foreseen Nick being captured by Stella and now he's their prisoner!" Jupiter replied weakly, tears fell from her eyes.
"No! She can't be in a coma!" I protested.
"It's true..."
"NICK! Why did he have to stay behind!" Tea wept.
"If only we knew!" Pluto growled, clutching his fists.
"Who knows what the Final Five will do with Nick!" Apollo said.
"I doubt they're going to keep him alive for long..." Orpheus spoke out. "There's another obstacle we can't seem to go through in the tomb, remember?"
"Yes, there are seven chambers in the Forgotten Tomb, and the only ones not opened are Nidoki's and Artemis's." Pluto concluded.
"How do you know it's their chambers?" Atem asked.
"On top of every chamber is a carving of each Millennium Item, and the one Yukai mentioned before was his," Pluto explained.
"That settles it!" Nidoki replied, gradually standing up. "Forseti, we shall go to the tomb!"
"Why can't you go by yourself?" Forseti bickered.
"Do you want your sister kidnapped by the Final Five?"
"Fine, I'll go!"
Nidoki and Forseti left the room immediately as Pluto and Uranus glared daggers at each other. What was wrong with those two?
"If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened!" Uranus argued.
"Uranus, why can't you end this rivalry and get on with your life?" Gaia yelled.
"Our lives were taken when we fought against Pluto during the Final Battle!" Uranus shouted. "We should have destroyed him when we had the chance!"
"Perhaps I should have destroyed you!" Pluto roared.
"Shut up!" I shouted.
Everyone became silent and Pluto and Uranus stared at me. They seemed surprised by my action.
"I think it's time to put the past behind you two, and think of a way to save Nick." I said. "And maybe we can find a way to wake Artemis up from her coma."
"I agree with Yugi," Tea stepped in. "Your fighting won't get us anywhere, and we have to start our first priority."
"The mortals have a point," Pluto decided.
"Whatever, then tell us this legend you translated." Uranus agreed.
Meanwhile in an unknown part of Animus, Stella was bringing an unconscious Nick back to her master's castle. She flew on dark green butterfly-like wings whilst her velvet, forest-green robes flailed in the air currents. She remembered how Nick became in the state he was now.
"Pathetic mortal," she muttered. "He didn't stand a chance against me, and luckily one of my spells knocked him out."
Stella arrived at the castle and walked through the gateway. She passed through countless passages until reaching her destination. Stella was surrounded by medieval architecture as she came upon her master's chamber. She was greeted by three other Guardians.
"Took you long enough to get back," a feminine voice replied.
The girl appeared from the shadows, gazing hazel eyes at Nick. She pushed a strand of black hair from her face as her crimson and yellow robes flapped as she walked towards Stella. Another Guardian stood before her.
"You brought a mortal here, why?" a masculine voice asked.
This being looked similar to the female Guardian, except he had gray eyes. His black robes were covered by tough-looking armor. The third Guardian approached the group.
"Stella, I doubt the master wanted you to bring back a mortal." the Guardian replied.
His green eyes stared at Nick as he brushed a hand towards his blond hair. The Guardian's blue and white robes billowed as their master appeared. The three dispersed and allowed their master to confront Stella.
The master had a sword hidden behind his back whilst his blue eyes glared at Stella.
"Athena and I think we should deal with those mortals and the Guardians since all Stella did was bring their friend here," the second Guardian spoke.
"Vulcan, you fool!" the other Guardian spat. "What makes you think you and your twin sister will win?"
"Do you have a better plan, Zephyrus?" Vulcan queried.
"Yes, do you?" Athena replied.
The green-eyed Guardian glared at the two. "Listen, I may want to fight against Artemis but that's not the only reason!"
"Of course not!" another voice shouted.
"Sonja, what are you doing here?" Stella whined.
The said Guardian approached them. "I want revenge, that's all!"
"Ah, master, what shall I do with the mortal?" Stella asked, carefully lifting Nick from the ground.
"Lock him up in the dungeons!" their master ordered. "Sonja, perhaps this mortal may be of some use to you."
"I already have the perfect plan to also deal with Artemis!" Sonja replied happily.
"I can take care of Artemis myself!" Zephyrus argued.
"Don't count on it. She'd overwhelm you easily due to her mastery of the wind." Zephyrus glared at that remark, too embittered to say anymore and preferring to fight her if necessary.
Stella began to walk away as did Athena and Vulcan. They all appeared nervous and disappeared from the chamber.
"Zephyrus!" their master scolded. "Let Sonja do her job, and I rather enjoy what's to come..."
Back on Earth, Pluto began discussing about the legend to us. Tea sat down beside me as Uranus watched warily of us. The other Guardians looked stressed out after all that happened.
"As you all know, there were three mighty dragons called the Millennium Dragons," Pluto began. "They are often referred as Phoenix Dragons because of the way they resembled these mythical beasts. You all have witnessed Ra the Golden Phoenix Dragon and its incredible power, but the other two are yet to be found."
"Does anyone recall when Apollo and I battled Pluto back in Animus, and suddenly this huge creature appeared out of nowhere?" Yukai interrupted.
"As a matter of fact, I remember!" Tea replied.
"Yugi and I have seen it as well," Atem said.
"That was when Kaiba and Joey were unconscious," I added.
"You won't believe what we found out about that particular Millennium Dragon!" Apollo yelled excitably.
"About that, um... why do you call them Millennium Dragons?" I questioned.
"The seven Millennium Items were derived from the very power of them and given to our grandparents Isis and Osiris," Orpheus answered. "Then they were passed down by our parents."
"Skyros is Forseti, Nidoki and my father," Yukai said.
"Apophis is Mercury's and my father," Pluto included.
"Horus is Apollo's, Artemis's and my father," Orpheus continued. "Selene was the only daughter, and she had family in Egypt which so happens to be the same bloodline as Atem's."
"That was what Artemis mentioned to me!" I yelled once I realized what she meant about her being my ancestor.
"I don't see a family resemblance..." Joey pondered.
"Actually there is," Yukai replied. Joey appeared confused. "It's not the similarity, it's their power within themselves."
"The Shadow magic!" Atem shouted. "That was passed down from generations!"
"Anyway, the Bronze Phoenix Dragon is said to have split into two spirits and that the Bronze Phoenix Dragon will be revealed when the Keepers of its soul are in trouble," Yukai continued. "Both Kaiba and Joey fit the description perfectly."
"NO WAY!" Joey spat.
"You're not kidding?" I asked.
Yukai nodded. "It's true, and even if you two don't like each other, just get use to it because you need to work together."
"We don't have to worry about Ra since its reincarnation is sitting right in this very room," Pluto said as he stared at me. "It's the Silver Phoenix Dragon we can't seem to locate..."
"Why is that?" I asked.
Pluto sighed. "The legend just says that the Keeper of the Silver Phoenix Dragon must unlock their pure heart, and that's all it says..."
"Perhaps Nidoki's chamber can divulge the information we're seeking." Atem replied.
Something told me that Artemis was the Keeper of the Silver Phoenix Dragon, but why? I did remember seeing her Ka back at her castle when we were ambushed, and I helped her to summon it. If only she were here...
"The legend goes on saying that the Galactic Dragon was the Millennium Dragons' greatest foe, and they defeated it by sealing its soul somewhere in the Underworld and its body within the vast universe," Pluto explained. "I happen to have located the Galactic Dragon's soul but I pray that the Final Five haven't found its body..."
"It's said that the Millennium Dragons will arise once again to stop the Galactic Dragon from destroying the universe they created, and they must band together when all is lost..." Yukai continued. "Part phoenix allows them to be reborn from their ashes, and part dragon allows them to seal all the greatest evils of the universe."
"What about the Silver and Bronze Phoenix Dragons' names?" I asked.
"Mesenet the Silver Phoenix Dragon, and Ammon the Bronze Phoenix Dragon, his name meaning 'hidden' in Egyptian." Pluto answered. "We found the names in my chamber, and that is all we uncovered."
The night soon came as I headed to the infirmary where Artemis was kept. I sat beside her bed and held her hand. It felt cold and lifeless, but I didn't want to let go. Life support machines were hooked up to Artemis and only the rhythmic beeps from the machines were heard. Artemis's eyes remained shut and she looked peaceful as she was breathing.
Pluto and Yukai were watching sadly, and they soon walked away. Probably Artemis's coma must have hit them hard since they knew her for nearly many centuries and they would never have expected this to happen to her.
"Artemis, please you must wake up..." I whispered softly as tears fell from my eyes.
I looked out the window and noticed the moon was waxing, which meant there will be a full moon in a couple of days. Artemis's powers were strongest during the full moon and she became weak when it was the new moon. I eventually fell asleep, not knowing Sonja was watching the whole time.
"Poor runt..." she replied. "Too bad his girlfriend won't remember a thing after I'm finished altering her memories and dreams!"
Sonja suddenly disappeared as I stirred from my slumber. I opened my eyes, and realized that the window was unlocked. I shivered from the cold night air and walked over to close it. Before I did I glanced around, and saw nothing. I walked back and fell asleep in my chair.
What I didn't know, Sonja was already inside Artemis's mind and changing everything that Artemis kept in her mind. I continued to sleep as Sonja's job was complete and she left Artemis's mind. I trembled in my slumber, but I shook off the feeling. Something told me I shouldn't let my guard down on Artemis, and that she could possibly become evil.
Author's Notes: I didn't think I would actually write something like this. That's it no more writing after I watch Smallville. Review!