Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Guardians of the Watchtowers ❯ The Summoning of Slifer ( Chapter 15 )

As promised, another chapter before Monday. Yay me! :)

Fanfiction reviewers:

Soul Dreamer- Thanks for the comments and for reviewing!

Anime-Blade- Thanks for the review!

Ril- I'm glad you like this fic. Well, I'll try to put more Marius and Bakurian in, but they really are minor characters though (mainly cuz I don't know that much about them- their personality and such). But I'll give it a try this chapter. Thanks for the review!

Yugi-obsessed- LOL, is this soon enough? Thanks for the review!

Alina3- I know! I feel so bad. Oh trust me, they got it coming to them! LOL, Thanks for the review!

Mediaminer reviewers:

Rowan Girl- I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review!

Calupe- Of course I never get tired of you! Yeah, the Elders just like the mess with people's minds, I guess. Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer- I don't own Yugioh.

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Chapter 15: The Summoning of Slifer

Once they were at a safe enough distance away from the Castle, deep into the forest, the group collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, tired from running most of the way. Yami casted a spell to give the area some light. Kaiba gently set Raven down against a tree, then sat down next to her. No emotion showed on her face, her once-bright golden eyes now dulled. Wordlessly he placed an arm around her shoulders, hoping that his presence could offer the slightest bit of comfort. To his surprise, she immediately leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes once more.

After catching his breath, Marius remarked jokingly, "Well, that was fun, now wasn't it?" He earned glares from both Marik and Yami. He raised his eyebrows. "What? What did I say?" Some people needed to lighten up a bit.

Bakurian sat against a tree, his human-look-alike right next to him. There was no WAY that he was going to be blamed for Belinos's death, which undoubtedly Raven would place the blame on him. It wasn't his fault the stupid dragon wanted to help. Raven had, after all, told him to go home. But no- he had just had to be so stubborn. Bah. He just wasn't getting any breaks this time around. Upon arriving in Arawn through that cursed portal, he and Marius had found that the humans had already managed to get themselves kidnapped. So of course, they had to go find them and rescue them. When they finally did, Bakurian was annoyed to find that the kidnapper was none other than Ryldor, a vampire with a deep vendetta against him, and one of his many, many enemies. He thought Ryldor had died in the fire that he had set upon his coven (Yami had unknowingly helped him with that), but apparently he somehow had survived. And now he was out for revenge, and had decided to use Bakura and Marik as part of it, giving them a new addition to their behinds. Personally, Bakurian thought Bakura looked much better *with* the tail- made him look less human, and therefore less annoying. But his opinion never counted.

Anyways, it took a while, as well as a lot of effort on his part, to save Bakura and Marik, and make sure that Ryldor didn't survive this time around. After resting for the night, he and Marius agreed to head for Castle Istar, since that'd be the most likely place that Yami and Raven would be heading towards. And what do they find? Those two battling a host of minions from the Elders, and not having much luck either. So once again Bakurian has to save their behinds, but does he get any thanks? No, of course not. He just gets a couple of rude remarks as their gratitude. Pheh.

Then comes Raven's idea to summon Slifer, sacrificing their powers to do so. Give up his power? For a bunch of humans? NEVER. Okay, sure, he may have a bit of concern for his look-alike (though he'd *never* admit that out loud), but he certainly wasn't about to give up his power to help him, especially when they could defeat the Elders without Slifer's help.

Or at least that was what he thought before they had gone up to battle the Elders. The old fogies were more powerful than he expected, and damn their never-ending mass of minions! He definitely wasn't expecting those things to be there, at least not that many of them. And of course, as his rotten luck would have it, they had to be the can-never-be-killed variety too. Still, there had to be a way to defeat them without giving up their powers…

As Bakurian continued his silent musings, Yami stared at his cousin. She still had not uttered a word since calling the Elders bastards (which he whole-heartedly agreed with). However, he was surprised to see that she was letting that Kaiba-fellow comfort her. That was certainly an unexpected first. Another unexpectedness was seeing Raven cry. She had always been the strong one, always in control of her emotions. That night, when their family was slaughtered by that betraying-piece-of-scum called Angus, Raven had cried. After wiping away the last of her tears, she vowed to avenge their family, as well as never to let her emotions get the best of her, never to let anyone else get close to her…never to love again. And she stuck to her vows, with the exception of the first. Sure, she had him, and she had friends like Eiru and Belinos, but love was certainly out of the question for Raven. Yami had already noticed her Water pendent hanging around Kaiba's neck. He wondered how in the worlds Kaiba had managed to get through her immense shields.

A gentle poke on his arm brought Yami out of his thoughts. He glanced over to his side, where Yugi was sitting next to him. "Is she gonna be alright?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know, Yugi," Yami answered just as quietly. "She and Belinos were extremely close. She had watched him grow up from a tiny hatchling. His death, along with the apparent plan of the Elders, must be very taxing on her."

To this, Raven finally opened her eyes and lifted her head off of Kaiba's shoulder. "They've been manipulating us the whole time, Yami," she said in soft voice. She gave a short laugh. "I'm beginning to wonder if we've been manipulated from the very beginning."

Yami eyed his cousin carefully. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. The Elders are always boasting that they have a plan for everything, that they are in complete and total control. What if everything that we've done, that we've been through has all been a part of some master plan of theirs?" Her gaze darkened. "Someone must have contacted Angus, told him about our world, and given him the opportunity to obtain immortality. What if that someone was …Pegasus?"

Yami thought about her words. It was certainly all very plausible. Pegasus gets Angus to betray Raven and kill their family, the loss causing both of their hearts to darken enough to be able to control the elements (The Elders only wanted the elements to be controlled by those with a dark heart.) So they both became Guardians, along with Bakurian and Marius, who were already insane and dark enough on their own. Then, the Elders make up the whole Illuminites-will-destroy-Arawn-one-day thing, which sets up the meeting between the Guardians and Yugi and his friends. Once feelings start to develop, the Elders then ship them back to Arawn, knowing that they must go to the Castle and meet them in order to have any chance of escaping back to Yugi's world. Once at the Castle, the Elders would have the Guardians killed, the grief presumably would darken the hearts of Yugi, Kaiba, Bakura, and Marik, which would allow for them to become the next Guardians of the Watchtowers. And the dark magick that's been radiating from the Castle? It's not to call all the creatures of Arawn to the Castle for war- it's the preparation of the induction ceremony for the "new" Guardians. It all made sense now.

Yami looked at Raven. "You're right. Perhaps we have been manipulated from the beginning."

She nodded, gently removing Kaiba's arm from around her shoulders and rising to her feet. Kaiba immediately stood up as well, looking at her with concerned eyes. He did not like the dark, cold gaze in her eyes. "And I for one am tired of being manipulated. They're the ones who ordered the deaths of our family, and they killed Belinos as well. They have much to answer for." She moved away towards a clear space, withdrew her dagger from her belt, and began drawing a large circle in the dirt.

Yami grew concerned at her actions, and quickly got to his feet, Yugi following him. "Raven, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing what we should have done before we ever stepped foot into Castle Istar. I'm going to summon Slifer."

This caught the attention of both Bakurian and Marius. "Raven," Bakurian growled out, "we've had this discussion before. We will *not* sacrifice our powers to summon the god monster. We absolutely refuse to."

"If you hadn't been so damn selfish about your stupid powers, then Belinos might still be alive this minute," Raven snapped acidly. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Besides, there's more than one way to sacrifice to a god." The circle being nearly complete, she stepped inside of it, bending down to close it off. However, she paused when she noticed Yami coming up to her. She turned her head upwards, gazing at him with dark eyes.

Yami knelt down beside his cousin, placing his hand over the one that held the dagger, preventing her from closing the circle. "Raven," he began, keeping his voice low so that Yugi and Kaiba wouldn't be able to hear him, "tell me you're not doing what I think you are going to do?"

"I am, Yami," Raven replied, keeping her voice equally low. "It's the only way."

"But to sacrifice yourself to summon Slifer? That's…" Yami paused to gather his thoughts. "Is that really necessary?"

Raven closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and looked at Yami determinedly. "I refuse to let anyone else that I care about die. And I certainly won't allow the Elders to ruin the lives of Yugi and his friends. This time, they won't manipulate us to get their way."

The Fire Guardian sighed, thinking. "Well, if that's the case, then I'm performing the spell with you."

"No. I need you to stay and make sure that Yugi and Kaiba get home safely." She smiled slightly. "Can't depend on those two other dolts to do it," she said, slightly inclining her head towards Bakurian and Marius.

Meanwhile, Bakura was talking with Bakurian. "What's Raven doing? Why the circle on the ground?"

"She's getting ready to perform a spell." When Bakura gave him a confused stare, Bakurian rolled his eyes in annoyance. "To do a spell, you always draw a circle and create the magick within it. Otherwise, the magick summoned could go off elsewhere and cause unintended side affects. Besides, if you want your spell to work, it's best to concentrate it in one area. A circle does that."

"Oh," Bakura said softly, then paused. "How is she going to summon Slifer without you and Marius's powers?"

"Don't know. But I'm gonna go find out." He had a feeling that it wasn't anything good. He motioned to Marius, who got up and followed him. When they reached the other two Guardians, Bakurian cleared his throat roughly, crossing his arms across his chest. "And just what are you two up to?"

Yami looked up at him. "Raven's planning on sacrificing herself to summon Slifer. Since *you* two are refusing to sacrifice your powers to stop the Elders," he added pointedly. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to keep his voice low, so everyone had heard him.

Kaiba's heart nearly stopped when he heard Yami's words. He quickly strode over to where the four Guardians were gathered. "What do you mean, you're going to sacrifice yourself?" he demanded of Raven.

She looked at him coolly, but Kaiba could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I made a vow to get you safely home, Seto. And I intend on keeping it."

"But you don't need to give up your life!" Yugi cried out suddenly, running up towards them. He looked at Marius and Bakurian. "If you two would just agree to give up your powers, then we could *all* make it out of here safely." He looked at them with pleading eyes.

Bakurian snorted in response, turning his head away from Yugi. Only to find himself looking into the exact same look from Bakura. Likewise, Marius was on the receiving end of the look from Marik. Great, once again, they were being ganged up on. He and Raven may have had their differences, but still…they had been through a lot together. And, as much as he hated to admit it, she *had* always been loyal to him, looked out for him. With a very loud grunt, he nodded his head. Marius did likewise, his thoughts much the same as Bakurian's. They were both met by immediate hugs of their human-look-alikes. Bakurian pushed Bakura away with a frown. How he hated showing all that mushy emotion!

Yami nodded in relief, then turned towards Yugi. "Yugi, you and your friends get by that tree over there. If our offerings are accepted, and the god creature is summoned, I don't want you getting in his way. They can be rather unpredictable."

Yugi nodded his understanding, then reached up to give Yami a hug. "Be careful," he whispered into his ear.

"I will," Yami said, returning the embrace tightly. Gods, let this work. It was their last hope…

Raven had stepped out of the still-incomplete circle, and was now standing next to Kaiba. She smiled slightly. "Everything will be fine. It's almost over now."

"And when it is? What will you do then?"

She considered his question thoughtfully. "I don't know, actually. We'll probably be hunted by those still loyal to the Elders, so can't stay in Arawn. I don't think I want to anyways. Maybe I'll go visit the other worlds. It's been a while since I've visited the Dragon lands, where…"she paused suddenly. "Where Belinos is from," she finished quietly. She sighed softly. "Maybe I won't be going there then."

Kaiba took a deep breath. "Why not come back to my home? I mean, to my world," he added hastily. "I'm sure your cousin will want to stay around Yugi."

Raven smiled. "Perhaps that is not a bad idea. Thank you for the invitation, Seto."

He smiled in return.

Yami came up to them. "Everyone ready?"

His cousin nodded, and with one last smile at Kaiba, turned and stepped into the circle. Yami, Bakurian, and Marius followed, then she bent and completed the circle. Yugi and the other walked over to a safe distance away from the circle, standing near some trees. They waited, their hearts starting to pound in their chests.

The four Guardians each got into their proper places, Bakurian in the Eastern corner, Yami in the Southern, Raven in the Western, and finally Marius in the Northern. They each closed their eyes and raised their arms, focusing their magick in the center of the circle. With a deep breath, Bakurian began the spell. "Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Rhun, ent yala i' Vilya. Tul nae amin!" White crystals began to gather in the center of the circle.

Yami continued the spell. "Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Har, ent yala i' Naurmen.," he said in a clear, steady voice. "Tul nae amin!" Red crystals joined the white ones in the center.

"Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Numen, ent yala i' Alus," Raven called out. "Tul nae amin!" Blue crystals gathered in the center, intermingling with the white and red ones.

"Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' For, ent yala i' Kemen. Tul nae amin!" Marius's brown crystals joined the others gathered in the center.

As the crystals mixed and the elements began to combine their powers, Raven took a deep breath. Here goes everything… "As the Guardians of the powerful Watchtowers, we offer these elements as a sacrifice to you, Slifer, great dragon-god of the skies. Hear our plea! We bid you to accept our offerings, and aid us in our time of need. Hear us and come!"

As soon as the last word was out of Raven's mouth, the crystals gathered in the center glowed immensely, and shot up towards the sky as one great force of power. The shot shattered the thickness of the trees above them, and continued high into the sky, the brilliant colors swirling around and around, forming a tunnel of sorts. Dark ominous clouds began to form around this tunnel of elements, and lightning cracked and boomed throughout the sky. Something could be seen forming within the tunnel…

Suddenly, a tremendous roar rang out throughout the lands, causing even the trees to tremble in fear. Their offerings had been accepted. Slifer had arrived!

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Heh heh, I'm evil. I'm gonna end it here. :D A reviewer requested that I put more of Marius and Bakurian's thoughts in, so that's what I was trying to do in this chapter. *shrugs* Hope I did okay. I'm really too sure on how they would think and such.

Translations: (Ok, these are extremely roughly translated, and more than likely the grammar is wrong.)

Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Rhun, ent yala i' Vilya. Tul nae amin!- I call on the Watchtower of the East, and summon the (element of) Air. Come to me!

Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Har, ent yala i' Naurmen. Tul nae amin!- I call on the Watchtower of the South, and summon the (element of) Fire. Come to me!

Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' Numen, ent yala i' Alus. Tul nae amin!- I call on the Watchtower of the West, and summon the (element of ) Water. Come to me!

Amin yel arta i' Tirion en' i' For, ent yala i' Kemen. Tul nae amin!- I call on the Watchtower of the North, and summon the (element of) Earth. Come to me!

Side note, sorry, but I got lazy and didn't feel like translating the last part of the spell. You get the picture anyways, right?

Well, seeing as how stupid classes start up again tomorrow, not sure when I'll be able to update. For now, you people can just imagine how the Elders will fair against Slifer. *grins* Enjoy! Thanks for reading and please review!