Chapter 8: The Book of Shadows

Noah kept appearing, disappearing, and reappearing on the laptop's screen. Mokuba hadn't been paying much attention though. He was too preoccupied about what might happen that night, but Yami was watching Noah intently. Eventually, Noah spoke.

"Guys, I have something to tell you!" cried Noah happily.

"What?" asked Yami.

"I can get into your world!"

"What!" cried Mokuba and Yami.

"I created something in my spare time a month ago! It enables me to fuse myself to the life force of a human! That means I'll stay alive as long as that person stays alive. I can't age though, but it's perfect!"

Mokuba and Yami weren't sure if what they heard was true or not. Could there really be something that would fuse him to someone's life force? It sounded like something out of a movie, but somehow they both knew that Noah was telling the truth. Why wouldn't he be? He wouldn't have brought it up if he hadn't actually figured out something.

"You're serious?" asked Yami.

"Mmhmm," said Noah. "Also, I can fight against my sister! I could actually help you!"

Mokuba and Yami looked at each other.

"I'm...guessing you'd fuse with me," said Mokuba.

"If you want me to," said Noah.

"Should I?" Mokuba asked Yami.

He wasn't sure about this. He knew they could trust Noah, but something told him it wasn't a very good idea. What was he going to do?

"I think we should give it a shot," said Yugi.

Yami was startled by the sound of Yugi's voice, "What?"

"You heard me."

"Are you sure, Yugi?"

"I'm positive."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Trust me. I know this is a good idea."

Yami nodded.

"Mokuba, I believe you should," Yami told him.

"Really?" smiled Mokuba.

"Yes."

Mokuba turned and faced his computer, "What do I need to do?"

Noah placed his hand on the screen, "Do what I'm doing."

Mokuba did as he was instructed, "Now what?"

"Just wait a moment," said Noah. "Trust me."

Suddenly, blinding streams of blue light were being emitted from the screen, filling up the entire room! Yami shielded his eyes from it all. Mokuba used his free hand to cover his eyes. Winds were blowing all around as though they were outside during a tornado. Mokuba felt like his body was spinning out of control. It was completely intense, and he didn't know how much more he could take!

"Don't take your hand off the screen!" cried Noah through all the turmoil. "It won't be much longer!'

Mokuba was trying his hardest, but still felt as though he was spinning rapidly. He wanted it all to end! He was about to take his hand away from the computer when it all stopped. He looked around the room. Everything was in order as if nothing had even happened! Yami had unshielded his eyes by now, and Mokuba took his hand away from the screen.

"Well, did it work?" asked Yami.

Mokuba was about to say something when Noah appeared right beside him.

"Of course it did," Noah smiled.

Mokuba gasped.

"You have an actual body out here?" asked Yami.

"Sort of," said Noah. "I reside within Mokuba's mind. I can come out anytime I desire, and I will almost always be my full size. Also, I will be able to talk to him while I'm inside his mind."

"So technically when you're outside his mind you do have your own body," said Yami.

"You can put it that way," said Noah.

"This is so cool!" smiled Mokuba.

"Finally, I can somewhat rejoin civilization."

"Noah, I think we should start preparing for tonight," said Yami.

"Yes," he agreed. "We need to devise a plan."

"When is she coming?" asked Mokuba.

"She could be on her way here right now if she wants to be!" exclaimed Noah. "But we need a plan of action before she arrives."

"We should turn on the security system," said Yami.

"I'll go set it," said Mokuba.

As Mokuba left, Noah looked to be deep in thought.

"Think of anything yet?" asked Yami.

"She needs to think that Mokuba is here alone," said Noah."You'll have to be hiding somewhere, and she'll apparently think I'm in the computer world."

"Then we'll jump out and surprise her?" asked Yami.

"Yeah," said Noah. "First, you'll reveal yourself. Then, I'll reveal myself."

"You'll be in Mokuba's mind at the time?" asked Yami.

"Mmhmm."

"When should I appear?"

Just then, Mokuba walked back in.

"I just thought of something," smirked Noah. "Both of you come here."

They all huddled together and went over what they were going to do when Natalie showed up. Eventually, they were all set. They all hung out in the family room for awhile. Noah kept watch for his older sister to come. Then, the power went out.

"She's here," announced Noah.

Everyone nodded and took their places. Noah entered Mokuba's mind, Yami left the room, and Mokuba stayed there. He hugged a pillow tightly to show he was afraid. That was a part of the plan, but it was also a bit true. Next, there was scratching on the sliding glass doors in the family room!

"Mokuba," Natalie said sweetly. "I know you're in there. Why don't you let me in? I need to talk to you."

Mokuba remained silent as the scratching went on.

"If you're not going to let me in willingly, I guess I'll just have to get in on my own," she said.

Mokuba heard the rustling outside as she walked away. He wasn't sure of what she was about to do, but he was prepared for her to break in, which is exactly what she did. The next thing that happened was she threw a rock through the window, shattering it to small pieces. Mokuba jumped. Next, she stepped through the mess, and stood there.

"Hello Mokuba," she said.

Mokuba didn't say anything. Really he couldn't even speak at the moment.

"Relax," Noah told Mokuba.

"I thought we could play a little game," Natalie said. She turned around and picked up a black leather bag from outside and set it down next to her. "Would you like to come take a look at what's in here?"

Mokuba shook his head slowly from side to side.

"If you won't come look, then I'll just show you," she said.

Natalie opened up the bag, "There are only two things in here. My trusty knife, and a very rare and special artifact."

She took out her knife and traced her fingers around the blade. Mokuba watched quietly. Then, she set it down in front of her and looked up at the young Kaiba.

"Don't worry. I won't use it on you yet."

She was about to speak about the artifact she'd brought when Yami appeared at the doorway.

"Mokuba, I..." he started, stopping because he found Natalie. "Mokuba, I didn't know anyone was coming."

Mokuba kept his eyes on Natalie, afraid that when he looked away she'd strike. Natalie stood up and smiled sweetly, "Hello."

Yami walked inside the room and stood next to the couch.

"I didn't know Mokuba had anyone over," she said.

"I thought you knew about everything," said Yami.

Natalie looked offended at his statement, but said nothing.

"What do you need?" Yami asked her.

"What makes you assume I want something?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Okay, I'll tell you what I'm here for," Natalie said. "I came to kill my little step-brother, but you're here. That means I'll have to kill you too. I'll also kill you first so Mokuba can watch helplessly."

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Yami.

"With my trusty knife," she answered. "Also, I'll use this."

She pulled out a black-leather book. It had gold lettering and was bound with string. Yami recognized it instantly. He had felt something ancient and the thing he sensed was the book she held in her hands.

"What is it?" asked Mokuba.

"I'm glad you asked," smiled Natalie. "This is the Egyptian Book of Shadows."

"That's how you were able to call upon a shadow creature to come and torture Mokuba with his fears," cried Yami.

"You are correct."

"How did you obtain that book?"

"I went to Egypt one year with my mother. While I was there, I was looking for many rare items the Egyptians used for torture. When I learned about the Book of Shadows, I knew I could use it one day for something. I've used it many times on some of my other enemies. I used one of the spells in here to haunt my father with disturbing dreams of his death. Many of them were of my brother killing him. But that was after Noah had died. So it didn't pose much of a threat to him, but it was still fun."

"That book was created by Anubis," said Yami. "He created it to torture his victims before they died, and to torture his enemies. He would sometimes give it to tomb robbers and other evil people so they could perform many horrible acts. That book was sentenced to be destroyed, but it had disappeared mysteriously the next day."

"You know your Egyptian history well," smiled Natalie.

"I should," said Yami.

"I found this book in the ruins of the Egyptian palace where the High Priest would reside," she said. "He was going to use it on the Pharaoh, but never had the chance."

Yami remained silent.

"How could you use that on anyone?" asked Mokuba.

"It's fun to torture others," she laughed.

"You're a horrible person," said Noah, emerging from within Mokuba's mind and sitting next to him on the couch. "Even more horrible than when I was alive!"

Natalie looked horrified, "H-how did...how are...what's going on?"

"Surprise," said Noah.

"You can't be here!" exclaimed Natalie. "You're dead! The only way you exist here is in the computer."

"Not anymore," said Noah. "I created a way to exit that world. I can finally serve a purpose and help protect my family."

"You'll fail," she smiled. "Nothing can stand in the way of the Book of Shadows."

"Except for a certain Millennium Item," said Yami.

Natalie looked over at him with and annoyed expression on her face, "Your knowledge of all of this is getting extremely aggravating."

Yami smiled at her. She then returned her attention back to her younger brother.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Natalie.

"Bring it on," smirked Noah.

Natalie picked up her knife from the floor and aimed to throw it. Noah was trying to predict who she'd throw it at, and he had a very good guess. She would probably aim for Mokuba, but what if she knew he'd think that? Then who would she be throwing it at? Suddenly, Natalie let go of the knife. It sped quickly across the room into Noah's heart! Noah winced in pain and grabbed a hold of the knife.

"Noah!" cried Mokuba.

"Are you all right?" asked Yami.

"I...I'll be fine," he choked out.

Natalie watched with wide eyes as Noah pulled the blade out.

"You should be dead," said Natalie.

"You can't kill me," said Noah. "I'm already dead."

"Fine," she said. "But I can apparently still hurt you. Once I get you out of my way, I can move onto Mokuba."

Mokuba cowered behind Noah. She laughed at his cowardice. Soon she would rid the world of Mokuba, and she'd gain control of Kaiba Corp. She was determined that her plan would succeed. Her plans always did and now would be no different. Soon everything would be how it was supposed to be.