Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Hostile Takeover ❯ The Temple of Sacrifice ( Chapter 68 )

Shadow of Light: Yami hasn't stooped low enough yet. Two words: Chappie 70.

Lady Elfskye: Yami's not going to help too much.

bakachibi voidfox: Bakura and Marik will kick ass.

Isawa17: Hope you like the story so far!

Ryou's Mistress: No, you can't not read 70. It's integral to the rest of the story.

Terra: *hands popcorn*

Marik Ishtar: Aria will be okay.

Tokyo Nights: Thank you for your review. Steven's fate is unknown. That's just in case I need him later. I shouldn't, though.

Maruken: I love Aria in her yami form too. So cute.

Cynical Spirit: You're jumping ahead of me!

Seto Lover and Bakurasgirl worshipper: Yeah! Chained yamis!!

The Temple of Sacrifice

The group ran up the stairs and stopped. The Decayed Commander, the Knight of Twin Swords, and the Old Vindictive Magician stood guard in front of the door.

Bakura pulled out his deck from his pocket and removed his Man-Eater Bug. The creature appeared beside him.

"Man-Eater Bug, attack the Knight of Twin Swords!" Bakura ordered.

Seto pulled a card from his deck. "Witty Phantom! Attack the Decayed Commander!"

The Witty Phantom appeared beside Seto and destroyed the Decayed Commander.

Yugi pulled out Silver Fang from his deck. "Silver Fang! Destroy the Old Vindictive Magician!"

The magician shattered as the creature attacked it.

Yami was surprised that Yugi would sacrifice one of his own monsters for Aria's sake.

The group continued to run up the stairs. They reached inside and they found Steven standing over Aria, who was tied down to the altar.

Ryou gasped. "Daddy!"

Aku and Steven looked up and saw the group run in. Steven gripped the handle of the dagger tightly. Aten cringed as he recognized the blade.

"Well, well, Ryou! Long time no see! Thought you could get rid of me, hmm?"

Bakura growled and bolted for Steven when Aku called out to Bakura.

Bakura stopped when he heard a whimper. Aku held a dagger to Aria's throat.

"I'll slice her open, Bakura! Step back!"

Seto clenched his fists, his body shaking with rage. "Let her go, asshole!"

Aku laughed. "Come now, Kaiba. Surely you could have come up with something more inventive than that!"

Aria whimpered as Aku held her head back and pointed the dagger at her windpipe. "Unkie Seto….help," the chibi whimpered.

"Tisser!" Aten cried out as he gripped onto his father's leg.

"Daddy, this is madness! Let Aria go! She's just a little girl!"

Steven grinned. "A little girl who will grow to be a beautiful woman, Ryou. Envied by all. I don't doubt that you'll have boys knocking down your door to get to her."

Aku laughed. "As far as your other child goes, nobody likes 'damaged goods.'"

Ryou stepped back and turned away from them.

"Nobody will want him! Nobody wants what's already been taken!"

Aten growled and stamped his feet. "Sut up! Tumbuddy will wuff me!"

"You keep believing in that illusion, Aten. Keep thinking that someone will voluntarily put up with your heart problem! Keep thinking that someone will love you for who you are! No such person exists!" Aku taunted.

Yugi stepped away from the crowd. "You're nothing but a bully, Aku! Someone already does love Aten! We love him! We are his family!"

Steven returned to the altar and wiped the dagger.

Joey turned to Seto. "What are we going to do?"

"Ryou, my son, if you volunteer to stay with me willingly, I will let your daughter go."

Ryou stepped between Marik and Bakura. "No, dad!"

Steven raised the dagger. "Berserk Dead Dragon! Attack!"

The dragon shot a fireball at Aten, but the Helpless Child jumped in front of it, kneeling and crossing its arms in front of itself.

"I defend my Master Aten!"

The Helpless Child shattered into tiny pieces.

Seto removed three of his Blue Eyes White Dragons from his deck and fused them together to make the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Seto ordered it to attack and the Berserk Dead Dragon shattered.

Steven gasped. "No! My beautiful dragon!"

Marik and Bakura grabbed their Millennium Items. They focused their spiritual energies on their items and shot a bolt of energy at Aku and Steven.

Steven laughed. "You made me immortal, Marik! You cannot kill me!"

Aku chuckled. "You can't kill me, Bakura! I am a part of Ryou that will follow him to the grave!"

Bakura turned to Ryou. "Give me your ring."

Ryou handed Bakura his Christmas present.

Bakura and Marik glared at their opponents. "Time to give Aku a new home."

Marik gripped the Millennium Rod tightly Bakura held up the ring Ryou had put in his hand.

"Spirit of Evil,

Pollution of Light!

We cast thee into this metal gold!

Trapped and bound where you no more may behold!"

Aku let out a piercing scream as his essence was locked into the metal ring.

Bakura grinned as he slipped the ring on Ryou's finger again. "Aku will no longer trouble you, Ryou. He'll have to try pretty damn hard to get out of that one!"

Seto gasped. "ARIA!"

Ryou and Bakura looked up at the altar and found Steven raising the dagger, holding Aria's head back.

"Say goodbye to your precious daughter, tomb-robber!"

"DADDY!" Aria screamed as she struggled against the chains that bound her to the altar.

"Tisser!"

Bakura and Marik gripped their Millennium Items again and shot a bolt of energy at Steven. Yami grinned as he saw Bakura's energy stream weaken.

'The tomb robber has been weakened. Perfect.'

Steven laughed. "You fools can't defeat me! I'm invincible!"

Ryou stepped between the two yamis and growled. "Two yamis may not be enough to stop you, father, but there is nothing greater than the love of a mother for her child! I will stop you, you heartless, selfish, foolish, old bastard!"

"What are you going to do, Ryou? Prance around like the fairy you are?"

Ryou narrowed his eyes and grabbed Bakura's Millennium Ring with his left hand. Ryou grabbed Marik's Millennium Rod with his right hand.

The ball of energy focused in front of Ryou. Ryou growled as he heard his father laughing.

"Take this you god-damned son of a bitch!" Ryou let out a shriek as the energy ball hit Steven, knocking him back.

Above them they heard a deafening roar.

A part of the temple started caving in as the Nightmare Dragon burst its head through. Joey grabbed Aten, shielding him with his body.

Bakura turned and saw more of the temple crumbling as the Nightmare Dragon knocked down the surrounding walls.

"Moneybags, get Aten out of here!"

"Malik, leave!"

Malik gripped onto his husband. "But, yami! I can't leave you!"

Marik's hair spiked and twitched. "Leave or you'll be killed! I don't want to see you hurt."

"Mommy!" Aten cried as Joey carried him out with Seto and Malik behind them.

The Nightmare Dragon roared again viciously, seeing its mistress chained to a stone altar.

The dragon's spiked tail slammed through the ceiling of the temple. Ryou ran to Aria, covering her with his body to protect her from the falling debris.

"Mommy! Mommy, I'm scared! Untie me!"

Steven jumped up from the ground and wrapped his hand around Ryou's throat. "I've been dying to see you again, son!" The barbed wire pierced the top layer of skin as Steven pulled him to the ground.

Marik ducked and Bakura shielded Aria with his body as the Nightmare Dragon's tail swept along the roof. Yami covered Yugi with his body, protecting him.

Torches fell over and fire began rampaging through the ruins.

"Marik, get Aria out of here! Ryou!"

The Nightmare Dragon lowered its head to Marik and growled as he approached her. The Nightmare Dragon bit through the chains.

Aria sat up and smiled at her dragon. "My dragon!"

"Come with me, my mistress."

"Aria, wait!"

The Nightmare Dragon snapped at Marik. "Get out of here! I am going to destroy this place!"

Aria jumped on her dragon's head and the dragon flew away.

"You heard him, idiot pharaoh! Get out of here! Bakura! Ryou!"

Yami took Yugi's hand. "Let's go, Yugi!"

"But Ryou may need our help!"

"He has the two thieves to help him. He'll be fine."

Bakura grabbed Steven's wrist and twisted it. Steven's barbed wire wrapped around Bakura's arms. Marik gripped the Millennium Rod and the barbed wire disintegrated.

"Ryou, get out of here!"

"Aria!"

Marik pointed up to the sky. "She's on her dragon and her dragon is going to attack any second!"

Ryou looked up. "Are you sure?"

"Ryou, get out of here before the dragon attacks!"

Ryou saw the Nightmare Dragon poised in the sky, ready to strike.

Ryou ran out of the temple.

Steven growled at Marik. "My only regret is not having killed your son, Marik!" Steven narrowed his eyes as he spoke in Latin, a language that neither Bakura nor Marik could recognize. "When you go back to the real world, you will destroy my card. When you rip my card apart, you will release the Yami Virus. In five years when the virus begins to take effect, you and Marik will die. Goodbye, Marik and Bakura. Die in pain."

Marik narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, Steven?"

Bakura's Millennium Ring glowed. "Prepare for the end, Steven! ARIA!"

Aria raised her clenched fist in the hair. "NIGHTMARE DRAGON! ATTACK!"

Seto and Yami ran away quickly. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

The black dragon blasted the temple with large fireballs, causing the temple to explode.

"DADDY!!!! MY DADDY'S IN DERE! Unkie Puppy, det my daddy out! Peas? Tave my daddy! I no wan my daddy to weave me!"

Aten watched in horror as the large temple exploded, its bricks and stones crumbling to the ground in an inferno...his father still inside.

Ryou fell to his knees, sobbing. "BAKURA!"

Updates: Tomorrow.

Next Chappie: Aria Vs. Yami Duel…Who will win? (We both know the answer to that one.)