Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Nick who belongs to Phoenix727 or DJ and Darien who belong to DJ Rodriguez. With that all done, here's Chapter 28.

Chapter 28: Whisper

Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me into madness
I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away (If I will it all away)

Evanescence - Whisper

I could not bare to watch the outcome of Yukai's attack. His sword was engulfed in flames, preparing to launch at us and cause serious damage. Artemis was not backing down from this, and a look of determination came upon her face.

"Yukai." She whispered softly.

Slifer began to build for its attack. My eyes widened as these attacks combined into one. The flames surrounding Yukai's sword attracted the bolts of lightning from Slifer's mouth. Then Yukai slashed his sword to the ground, creating huge lines of yellowish-red flames.

I shielded my eyes from the blaze as the attack was aimed directly for us. Suddenly Artemis's fusion Ka appeared and absorbed the attack. It roared loudly as it landed beside Artemis.

"Hathor, fire back the attack at Yukai and Slifer!" Artemis commanded. The silver fiery phoenix shot out bluish-white flames, which seemed more powerful than Yukai's.

The flames licked around Slifer and it collapsed onto the earth, making the ground quake. Yukai managed to dodge the attack once he defended himself with his sword. The weapon negated the damage Yukai would have received.

"Yugi, didn't you have Yukai's sword?" Joey yelled as he and the others were safe in the distance.

He was right. For some reason I still had Yukai's sword, and whose sword did he have? I watched Pluto was being hit by the relentless attacks delivered by DJ, Darien, Nick and Tea. I quickly realized his sheath was empty. Maybe Pluto gave Yukai his weapon. But why?

Artemis strode over to me, her moon amulet gloweing in rainbow light. "Yugi, there may be a way to use Yukai's sword." She mused.

I looked at her. "You think that is why Yukai gave it to me?"

Artemis shook her head. "Probably." She took out the Millennium Rod, untying it from where she strapped it to her waist. The item shined in the sunlight. "Yukai and I once had a very strong bond of friendship and we vowed to protect one another in battle."

Yukai's sword began glowing as if it sensed the Millennium Rod nearby. I glanced at the image of the phoenix and dragon intertwined on the hilt of the sword. It pulsated once I grabbed it and held it into the air. Something within me told me there was a way to stop Yukai and Slifer. I felt myself being pulled away from this world, and entering a place of tranquility.

Yugi, join forces with Ra and use Horus' Gift to defeat Yukai, I heard Maiden of the Moonlight's voice within my mind. Just like what Yukai is doing with Slifer and Pluto.

I came out from my trance-like state and I was more focused now. I nodded to Artemis as her mirror materialized before me. Ra descended towards me and it glared at Yukai who smirked at us.

"What's goin' on?" Joey questioned. He and the others noticed my entire body emitted a golden light, and the Millennium symbol glowed upon my forehead.

Artemis and Hathor were spellbound by the amount of power they sensed being formed around me. My new power was surging through me, and Ra obtained the energy as it glowed, too. Everyone was shocked that my strength increased, and now I could take on Yukai. His dark auburn eyes gleamed with ambition, and I held out his sword directly towards him. Although it seemed Yukai anticipated this would happen, and I was having a bad feeling he had more in stored for me.

Ryou, Bakura and Mercury stared in awe as they watched Ra fly high up into the sky. Nidoki and Orpheus were dead asleep and they were resting in the chairs beside the table. The entire temple shook, and the two Guardians woke up in fright.

"The Apocalypse has begun! Run for your lives!" Orpheus shouted in distress. He flailed his arms in the air as Nidoki grabbed her chair.

She fell silent while Orpheus went crazy around the chamber. Orion and Endymion were alarmed about his behavior and they tried to calm him down. Instead, Nidoki stood up from her seat, walked into the direction Orpheus was running and as he approached her, Nidoki took him by the collar of his blue robes.

"You idiot!" she scolded, her eyes looked weary. "Look out the window and see if all hell broke loose!" Nidoki released him and sat back down on her chair, grasping her head.

Orpheus walked towards the window where Mercury, Ryou and Bakura were gazing at. He sighed in relief and wondered what Ra was going to do. He worried about Artemis and Apollo. Orpheus always thought as their older brother, he should be the one protecting them, but now they were the ones protecting him.

Even Nidoki felt the same as Orpheus. She was older than Yukai, with Forseti as the eldest of the three. She felt she had failed to protect her younger brother, and feared she might have lost him forever. Nidoki did not want Forseti to go down the same road Yukai took when he sacrificed himself to save Yugi. She knew as a Servant of Ra, she would have do anything in her power to guard Yugi from those who wanted to use him for evil.

"I sure hope they will be all right." Ryou said.

"Host, with Yugiaround they'll be fine." Bakura assured.

Ryou gave him a look of disbelief. His brown eyes appeared worried for his friends' safety. "I hope so." Ryou replied.

Bakura glared at him. "Listen. That runt was able to defeat me in a duel the time he and his pathetic mortal friends were in the Pharaoh's Memory World!" he reminded Ryou when they were searching for Atem's lost memories. "Not even my Diabound could beat them..."

"Well, this is different." Nidoki said. Her black eyes drooped. "Our friends are dealing with two Egyptian Gods and two Guardians who control them. If Pluto manages to activate his ability, they are doomed."

The battle between Yukai and I continued. He was aware of my newly-obtained powers, but the smirk he was giving made me feel uncomfortable. I never took my eyes off him, yet I knew something was wrong.

Pluto had the same look on his face like Yukai. No matter how many times he was attacked, he always struck back. DJ performed his best moves on Pluto, but the Guardian resumed fighting, not even showing a sign of weakening. He used his dark powers which hurt almost everyone that was near him. A black sphere formed around the palm of his hands, and he aimed it towards the unsuspecting Artemis. She noticed the incoming attack and stretched out her silver wings, then taking flight. The attack created a huge hole from the impact, and if it had hit her, she would have not survived.

I looked back at Pluto, but he was no longer there with Obelisk. The Egyptian God stood alone, and Pluto had moved where Yukai was. The two Guardians grinned evilly as Pluto was enshrouded in a black aura. The veil of darkness was transferred to Yukai, and the evil within him grew stronger.

"Pluto is more powerful than I assumed," DJ said as he, Darien, Nick and Tea approached us. "None of my attacks haven't even weakened him."

"What did you expect from a powerful Guardian?" Nick inquired. Tea looked at him worriedly. "Not even our Ka could beat him..."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Tea asked. Her Shinato King of a Higher Plane descended beside her as Invader of Darkness stood by Nick.

Artemis flew down from the sky and overheard what they were saying. She caught a glimpse at Yukai, and she could not help but wonder what she could do save him.

"Artemis!" I called out. She ambled towards me, clutching the charm around her neck and her eyes were not meeting mine. Deep down, she felt troubled.

"I cannot fail him..." Artemis cried under her breath. Tears fell from her eyes. "I promised that I would prevent him from destroying Animus, but my efforts seem futile now."

Artemis could not be quitting now. She simply had to stop Yukai before he was held responsible for annihilating their world. No matter how strong he became, we would pull through, somehow, someway. I stared at Ra who nodded its head in agreement. Its golden wings reflected the sun, bringing light into my eyes.

There must be a reason why Yukai became stronger, and it seemed the source of his strength came from Pluto. They had to be working with each other, to build one another attack's. Then maybe I could do the same with Artemis or Joey and Kaiba. Perhaps with all the Phoenix Dragons together, we may succeed!

"Joey! Kaiba! Come over here!" I tried to get their attention. They heard me and ran as fast as they could.

"This better be good, Yugi." Kaiba said. He crossed his arms.

"What is it, buddy?" Joey asked as he raised an eyebrow. Ammon flew over and waved its mighty bronze wings to create an intense wind that blew towards the ground.

Artemis walked over with Hathor the Silver God Phoenix following. It reverted back into the two Ka it was formed from. Both Mesenet and God Phoenix waited anxiously for Artemis to give them orders. "What is the meaning of this?" Artemis questioned, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"I want us all to work together." I said. Kaiba and Joey gazed at me with disbelief. Artemis insisted on me to continue. "Remember way back when Pluto was our enemy, Yukai said we must stand together because we become one powerful force."

"Like friendship!" Joey replied excitably. "I know what you're gettin' at Yugi!"

"Are you sure this will work?" Kaiba responded.

"It should," Artemis said. "If we combine our powers, Yukai and Pluto will not stand a chance against us. This has proven to be effective during the Final Battle, although Yukai and I were barely working with each other due to some personal problems."

I tried to hide a smile from her, but I knew she might have noticed. Joey and Kaiba were not paying attention since they were warily watching Yukai and Pluto for any sneaky attacks from them. Ammon, Mesenet and Ra had not taken their eyes off the two Egyptian Gods, not even for a second.

"Joey, Kaiba, Artemis," I drew their awareness. "With the power I was given from Yukai's sword and Artemis's mirror, I will give some of it to you."

The golden light swirled around me, and half of the strength I had within me was given to them. Artemis glowed in a silver light as both Joey and Kaiba glimmered in a bronze light. The two Phoenix Dragons roared as their powers increased.

My friends gazed in awe of the combined powers of the three Phoenix Dragons. Yukai and Pluto were not too pleased about this at all. They prepared to attack us, and so did Slifer and Obelisk. Atem caught sight of their doing and tried to warn us.

"Yugi! They're going to attack!" he yelled.

I stared at the two Guardians, and Yukai placed all of his and Pluto's powers into Pluto's sword. Slifer and Obelisk quickly built up energy to unleash their attacks. The two forces united into the sword, creating an evil aura around it.

The Phoenix Dragons began charging energy whilst Artemis, Joey, Kaiba and I fused our powers together. Our friends stood back as the two mighty attacks were about to clash. Artemis looked at Yukai sadly, but she knew this was the only way to stop him. We sent all our power to the Phoenix Dragons as they opened their jaws to form one final attack. Ra absorbed it all into a sphere of golden light and finally released its attack. Yukai sent the blaze of attacks at us, and the two clashed and produced a huge explosion.

Everyone shielded their eyes from the extreme blast caused by the two attacks. I slowly opened my eyes and I could not believe what I saw. Yukai and Pluto managed to survive, but their Ka were no more because they defended them before disappearing.

"Can anything stop them?" Joey asked. He fell to the ground from exhaustion. He breathed heavily and his eyes were nearly shut.

Kaiba coughed from the dust in the air and he was not looking very well. Ammon dived onto the earth as did Mesenet and Ra. I could sense they had become weak and defenseless from our attack. I, myself felt tired, but Artemis seemed fine.

"Yugi!" she gasped. She rushed towards me and held me on to her chest. My breathing was ragged, and she stroked my golden bangs. "I fear we may have lost this round."

My eyes gradually began to close. "I don't understand..." Artemis helped move my head, and I found that Yukai and Pluto had completely vanished. Where had they gone?

"They escaped..." Artemis whispered. "We were so close, and now they're gone..." Her long bangs fell beside her cheeks.

I pushed back one of them and I tried to get up. It was hard to move, and Artemis lifted me up to my feet. My eyes quivered from the loss we had. "Yukai and Pluto must remember who they really are," I said confidently. "They are not evil, and the one we should be truly facing is Seiryu."

Artemis shown an expression of determination on her face. Even Joey and Kaiba had gotten themselves back up. I knew if we stood united, we could defeat Seiryu and the Galactic Dragon. Nothing would stop us from reaching that goal.

Author's Notes: Hopefully by next week I should have more chapters done and posted. The song at the start of the chapter sounded perfect for it, hence why I added the lyrics. Here's what is coming up for Chapter 29:

Yukai and Pluto have retreated back to Seiryu, and this time Seiryu has bigger plans to deal with Yugi and his friends. His next target is Gold City, the most sacred of all for both human and Guardian alike. Can Yugi manage to remind Yukai of his old bond with Artemis, or will he destroy the ones he is supposed to protect? On the next Dark Crisis - Chapter 29: Return To The Place Where It All Began!