Valkyria : Hello! New chapter is here. Enjoy reading.

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Beta'd by : Moondalian

Current Song : Waltz of the Damned by Yoko Shinomura


"Let us learn our lessons. … Never believe any war will be smooth and easy or that anyone who embarks on that strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events… incompetent or arrogant commanders, untrustworthy allies, hostile neutrals, malignant fortune, ugly surprise, awful miscalculations." - Winston Churchill.

Chapter Twenty Nine : From All Sides - Elysian.

The sound of low, painful growls and the cracking of bones filled the air of the tent as Bakura shifted back to his human form. Bakura removed blood-stained chakrams from his hips, and knives from his arms with shaking hands.

Dropping them onto the table, he made his way to the cot that looked more comfortable than it probably was in his exhausted state. He flung himself onto it, wiping the drying blood from his mouth and allowed his throbbing arm to lie across his stomach. His entire body felt heavy with exhaustion from constantly shifting to his numerous cat forms and using his shadow magic.

He should have known better than to think pushing back Sylvantia and Atlantis would be a simple task. During the first seven days of the war, he'd lost one-hundred men to General Hermos' Atlantian Mages, and General Howard's ruthless earth magic and heavy cavalry, fifteen of whom had been from his personal Shadow Units.

In return, his own forces had managed to wipe out half of Colonel Panic's archers, which served as a morale boost amongst his men. Even though devastating the archers was quite an accomplishment, Bakura wasn't foolish enough to think it had done any real damage.

No, if he wanted to wreak true havoc, then he needed to kill one of the big fish, and he knew the perfect target was Colonel Panic. If he killed Panic, it would cause a small crack within the chain of command, causing small arguments to break out about who would take over Panic's men for the duration of the war.

He had no doubt that Howard would snatch up Panic's men to add to his own forces, which would only infuriate the lower-ranked commanders. They would think Howard was being greedy and wouldn't trust him with any more men than he already had. One thing he loved about Sylvantians was their extreme paranoia, and Howard was at their top of their list at the moment. They probably weren't foolish enough to believe Howard had escaped on his own.

All of this anger and mistrust between them would cause their chain of command to shatter completely, giving him and his forces the perfect opportunity to wipe them out in a few calculated moves.

There was only one, small, insignificant problem.

General Hermos.

The Atlantian would no doubt try to keep it all together, not only for his own sake but for the sake of his men as well, thus, ruining his plans.

Shaking his head, Bakura quickly pushed Hermos to the back of his mind; he would deal with the Atlantian when the time arrived. For now, he had to deal with Panic.

The flaps at the entrance to his tent moved, causing Bakura to ready his body to shift again. Before he could allow the transformation to occur, a familiar head popped in.

"Colonel Firimar?"

"Ishizu," Bakura relaxed his muscles, "what can I do for you?"

Ishizu stepped further into the tent, a small bowl of water and a bag of medical supplies in her hands. "I am here to check up on you, since you find it so tedious to visit the medical tents."

Bakura chuckled dryly. "Forgive me if I'm not in the mood to be picked and prodded at."

Ishizu carefully avoided the table with his blood-stained chakrams. "It would be best to clean those before the blood becomes too hard to remove." Ishizu laid a box of medical supplies on a table covered with maps. "Sit up and let me take a look at you."

Bakura complied, grunting as his muscles protested the movement. "I'll be fine. I just need some rest."

"You won't be able to rest with those scratches covering your body." Ishizu turned towards him with a wet towel and potion in her hand. Bakura didn't fail to see how slow and shaky her movements were. He rose from the cot and gently grabbed her arm, shaking his head sharply as she opened her mouth to protest as he sat her down on the cot.

"You need your rest more than anyone else, Ishizu." he sat down next to her. "Especially after-"

"Please," Ishizu shook her head, "I don't want to discuss this." She turned to him with the towel and the potion in her hands. "Just let me-"

"Work yourself to death so you can forget about Rishid's death?" Bakura shook his head sadly. "It's not going to help anyone if you collapse from exhaustion, Ishizu. And besides, just think how angry Rishid would be if he were here."

"But he's not," Bakura allowed Ishizu to lean closer to him to start cleaning his scratches. "He's gone, taken from us far too soon to our liking. I have no idea what I'm going to tell Malik."

"You'll tell him the truth." Bakura winced as Ishizu pressed too hard on one of the deeper scratches across his shoulder. "You'll tell him Rishid died with honor."

"Yes, of course," Bakura sighed as he felt the cool liquid of the potion on his skin, "though, I doubt it will do any good to tell him that. He and Rishid were quite close as children."

Bakura nodded in understanding. "It'll hit him hard, and there is a chance he'll try and get revenge in some way, shape, or form."

"I will deal with it when the time comes." Ishizu placed a hand on his healed shoulder. "Your skin is stretched and too soft, Colonel. How many times have you shifted, today?"

"More times than I care to remember."

"I take it your magical system has been depleted?"

"Unfortunately, those Sylvantians and Atlantians are like flies. I swipe two and four more appear in their place."

Ishizu released a worried sigh. "Forgive me for saying this, but we have greatly underestimated them."

"No," Bakura rose from the cot and stretched his back, moaning when he heard the bones crack, "Sylvantia's so called strategy is merely to hit and run. We have only underestimating the power of Atlantis' mages."

"Can we get rid of them?"

"We can, but we need the best mages we have." Bakura crossed his arms over his chest. "No others will do."

"Do you have any in mind?"

"Yes-"

"Colonel Firimar," a rough voice spoke from outside the tent, "I have a report for you. May I enter?"

"Yes."

A tall, heavily-muscled soldier entered the tent. "Captain Kylos of the Fifteenth regiment reporting, sir."

"Kylos of the Fifteenth?" Bakura crossed his arms. "What does the Archery Corp have to report to me? Major Adrian of my Shadow Units is in control of your forces."

Pain flashed across Kylos' eyes for a brief moment. "I regret to inform you that Major Adrian has passed to the Ethereal Realm."

"When?" Bakura took a step closer to Kylos. "When did it happen?"

Kylos' gaze lowered to the ground. "A half hour pass, Colonel. He died from his wounds." Kylos coughed awkwardly. "The reason I'm here is to ask you about our chain of command-"

"We will get to that soon enough, Kylos. I need you to tell me who, exactly, killed Adrian."

"Colonel Panic of Sylvantia," Kylos responded. "Adrian was struck by Colonel Panic's morning star several times," Kylos growled. "Panic is a sadistic bastard, Colonel. By the time I arrived, he had already struck Adrian three times. I managed to wound him with an arrow before he escaped."

"I see," Bakura muttered. "Thank you for informing me about this, Captain Kylos. As of this moment, you are the new commander of the Archer Corp."

Kylos saluted. "I thank you, Colonel. Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"So do I, Captain. So do I." Bakura pushed back the pain and denial he felt about Adrian's abrupt death. Before the war had broken out, Adrian had been planning his retirement from the Shadow Unit so he could spend more time with his family. Bakura swallowed at the thought of telling Adrian's wife.

"Colonel, I have one last report to give."

"…Go on,"

"General Howard and General Hermos are starting to move again."

"Where?"

"Southeast. We think they're trying to march to the Walled City of Fey, where their other forces reside. Colonel Panic and two unidentified soldiers have been spotted near the camps."

"Arrogant prick," Bakura hissed, outraged. "He thinks he can waltz around like he hasn't killed one of my most valued men." Bakura turned away to reach for his chakrams. "Here are your orders. Tell Captain Artemis to gather most of the troops and surround General Hermos and Howard's forces. Do not let them escape."

"And Colonel Panic?"

Bakura tightened his grip on his blood-stained chakrams. "I will handle him and his little soldiers."

His calculated plan of destroying Sylvantia's chain of command disappeared under his despair and anger at his friend's death. Not only was he going to break their chain of command, he was going to wipe it out.


"Your Majesty, behind you!"

Whirling around, Atemu quickly stuck his blade in the ground and sent out several tendrils of shadow magic towards the Orichalcos Gigas, bringing the beast down to its feet. Atemu quickly retrieved his blade afterwards and severed its head.

Watching the Gigas shatter, Atemu sheathed his blade. "Thank you, Reyna."

Reyna nodded, putting away her bow and arrow. "No need for thanks, Your Majesty." Reyna looked around. "Looks like this area is clear for now."

"Yes, but we have yet to find the summoner responsible for these monsters."

Reyna bit her lip, giving Atemu an apologetic look. "That is true, unfortunately. And I was positive that he or she would be here. This area was one of the most active ones."

Atemu gave Reyna an exhausted, reassuring grin. "It is alright, Reyna. I'm positive that we will catch him or her soon enough." Atemu looked around grimly. "Get a body count and burial started. I'm going to head to the next area."

"Alone?" Reyna stepped forward. "I can't allow that, Your Majesty. High Lord Kaiba gave me strict orders not to leave you alone."

"I will be fine, Reyna." Atemu chuckled, looking to the sky. "High Lord Kaiba believes that I cannot take care of myself. I believe that I have proven him wrong, have I not?"

Reyna nodded reluctantly. "Indeed you have, Your Majesty. But please, I implore you to take at least a couple of mages or soldiers with you into the next area. We may have driven most of Atlantis into the fields outside, but that doesn't mean some of them couldn't have managed to hide themselves away."

"Captain Reyna!"

Reyna turned and scowled. "What is it?"

"Monsters have been spotted in the East Section! We're requesting immediate reinforcements! Our tracker teams believe that the summoner is in the area."

"Seven days we have been searching for that damned summoner." Reyna growled. "Those tracker teams better be right!"

"No time to wonder if they are," Atemu said. "Let's head to the East Section and find out for ourselves."


With a wave of his hand, Jounouchi used his ice magic to clear away the small fires that remained in the business district of Fey. Fortunately, the squadron he had been assigned to had arrived in time to stop the assault the Atlantian mages had begun.

But after pushing them back, Jounouchi had been disappointed to see that the damage had already been done. Shops had been burned to the ground, fountains had been destroyed, and carts had been knocked over, their contents free for the taking.

"Quit daydreaming and put those damned fires out, Ice boy!"

Snarling, Jounouchi gently pushed out a wave of ice magic, putting out the last of the fires. It was just his luck that he'd gotten an arrogant asshole as a commander. He had managed to successfully sneak into the troops that the King and Seto were leading, though he was pretty sure he was going to get into trouble once they found out he had knocked out a guard and had stolen a uniform to get in.

Ah well, no use worrying about it now.

"Oh geez, watch the ice magic, newbie! We're trying to put out the district, not freeze it over!"

Finally fed up with James, Jounouchi snapped, "Why in the hell am I on clean up duty anyway, James? I could be useful outside right now!"

James laughed roughly. "Because you're a newbie, and I'll be damned if High Lord Kaiba and His Majesty are going to get on my ass about sending a newbie out into battle."

"I'm not a damned newbie, old man!" Jounouchi placed a hand on the blade strapped to his waist. "You saw what I could do. I even saved your ass five times!"

"And I thank you for all five times, but that doesn't negate the fact that we were ordered here for the time being. I'll admit that you're good with the blade, but it doesn't mean you're not still a newbie." James waved a hand around the ruined business district. "You'll get a chance to fight to your heart's content, but for now we are needed here, understood?"

"Yeah, I understand, but..." Jounouchi clenched his fists. The whole reason he'd snuck out was to make sure Seto and Atemu were going to be okay.

A loud roar caused Jounouchi to look up into the sky to see several dragons passing by. He squinted his eyes and tried to spot Kisara in the mass, but no such luck.

"The Dragon Brigade," James stated with a hint of awe. "I never get tired of seeing them."

"Where are they going?"

"They're probably following Atlantis' Dragon Brigade to the fields outside the city." James shook his head as he opened his mouth. "Sorry, kid, but you can't-"

"All soldiers report to the Eastern Sector! All soldiers report to the Eastern Sector!"

"Well," James grabbed his spear from the ruined fountain, "you heard the man. Let's move out."

Jounouchi glanced up towards the sky one last time. "Good luck, Seto."


Seto tightened his grip on Kisara's back as she tossed her head back and blasted another dragon and its rider out of the sky. Holding up one hand, Seto unleashed several large bolts of lightning, taking out three more dragon riders.

"I remember telling you to hold on!" Kisara breathed out through their link while diving. "I can't waste any time catching you if you fall off."

"I have no intention of doing such a thing." Seto shot back, sending another rider to his death. "Just concentrate on taking them down."

"Of course- By the God's it's-"

"It's what?" Seto looked ahead and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of a magnificent black dragon. A rider with midnight-blue armor sat upon its back.

"A Descendant."

"A Descendant?"

Kisara whimpered through their link, and Seto sent her a wave of comfort. "A Descendant is a dragon of royal blood. They are heirs to the legendary, holy dragons that flew beside the Gods themselves. Their power is unmatched. Seto, I…I cannot advance."

"Kisara?" Seto flinched when he felt a wave of fear shoot down their link. He had never felt so much fear come from her before. It was slightly frightening to think that something could scare Kisara so deeply.

"I cannot fight her! It is blasphemy! It is a sin for my race to fight against the Descendants.""

Seto glanced at the black dragon who was staring at them with piercing, amber eyes. Those eyes held a power and wisdom he'd never seen before; not even in Canaan and Kaeana's eyes. Breaking their staring contest, Seto turned his attention to the dragon's silent rider. The man looked powerful in his own right.

"Identify yourself!" Seto roared over the wind.

"I am General Critias of Atlantis. I am of noble blood. I am a speaker of Dragons. I am a pure, true Dragon Mage unlike yourself, boy."

Seto snorted. "A true dragon mage? If anyone is a true dragon mage, it's me, not you!"

Critias chuckled darkly. "Is that so? You accidentally bonded with the little one, did you not? I can see it from a mile away. You initiated the Rite of Ascension what…? Ten years ago? Your bond feels young and ripe."

"Shut up!"

"It's amusing that someone with so much power thrumming through his veins is so immature." Critias' gaze slid down to Kisara. "I am truly sorry that you had to bond with someone of such arrogance, young dragon."

"Mind your tongue, human!" Kisara growled. "Rest assured that I will devour your flesh between my jaws when this battle is concluded."

"You have fire, little one!" the black dragon growled, amused. "But I very much doubt you are going to do anything with my bonded, much less devour him. Now your bonded on the other hand…"

"I will not allow you to hurt him! Descendant or not."

"You would commit sacrilege for a human? You would dare fight me, a Descendant?"

"You fight for your human just as I do," Kisara growled. "You chose to participate in this war of humanity, just as I do. Descendant or not, I will fight you until my last breath leaves my body."

"Brave words, little one. But let us see if you can back them up."


Ryou closed the entrance to the medical tent as tightly as possible; anything to block out the sounds of magic, dying screams, and the shrill whistle of arrows. It had been eight long days since the war had started, but it felt more like an eternity. The sounds of battle never seemed to stop.

"Master Lindel, are you alright?"

Ryou swallowed and turned to his assistant. "I'm quite alright, Dimitri. How are the patients doing?"

"All of them managed to pull through thanks to your instructions." Dimitri grinned. "You're becoming more and more like Lady Ishizu every day, Master."

Ryou chuckled. "I wonder if that's a compliment or an insult."

"Take it as a compliment." Dimitri came to stop beside him, frowning at the distant sounds of screams. "Atlantians are relentless, aren't they? They've been going at it for days now. It's like they're possessed or something."

"Yes," Ryou's lips thinned at the thought, "though I'm more worried about General Timaeus. I've never seen someone as strong as him."

Dimitri made a noise of agreement. "Neither have I. It's like staring a combined version of General Aegnor and Colonel Firimar in the face. I still can't believe he managed to kill Captain Rishid."

Ryou flinched at the blunt reminder. He had been the one to operate on Rishid, only to lose him three days later. The wounds inflicted on Rishid had been too deep for even him to heal. He never felt as much of a failure as he had then. He would never be able to look Ishizu in the eye again. Not after he'd failed to save her beloved brother.

The entrance to the tent rustled and Marik poked his head in. "Everything alright in here?"

"Yes, General, everything is fine in here," Ryou replied. "What about you and your troops? Any injures?"

"No, praise the Gods for that blessing." Marik stepped further into the medical tent. "How are the injured?"

"They're doing well, General," Dimitri spoke up. "Some of them will definitely be on their feet within a day or so."

"Eager to get back to the battle." Marik chuckled. Dimitri turned as one of the patients called out for help. The assistant gave them an apologetic look before scurrying off.

"How are you?" Marik asked softly. "Really?"

"I am well. A little tired, but well enough," Ryou replied.

Marik placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't entirely believe that, Master Lindel. I can see you' still feel guilty over Rishid." Marik squeezed his shoulder. "Trust me when I say that there was nothing more you could have done. He died an honorable death."

"He was Ishizu's brother." Ryou whispered. "After all she's done for me, the least I could have done was save her brother's life. What am I going to say to her when I see her again?"

"She won't blame you, Master Lindel. Ishizu knows that you can't always save the life of your patient. She will know you tried your hardest to save his life. She is the one who turned you into the stubborn and willful healer you are today."

"Indeed she did." Ryou smiled fondly and decided it was time to change the subject. "Any word about him yet?"

"No," Marik scowled heavily, "I haven't seen hide nor hair of General Timaeus, though I'm sure he's stumbling around the city heavily injured. I made damned sure of that."

Ryou was between frowning and grinning at how smug Marik sounded at the thought of Timaeus most likely dying in the streets of Haven City. As a healer he initially felt guilty about hearing about a man dying; enemy or not. But he could make an exception when it came to General Timaeus.

"So, what happens now?" Ryou asked curiously.

"We continue to press Atlantis back, though I have a feeling they will be getting reinforcements all too soon."

"Do we need reinforcements?"

Marik grimaced. "Yes, but I'm afraid we can't spare them at the moment. With the monster attacks in Fey and General Howard's forces near Sylvantia, I'm afraid we are on our own for now."

"I can lend you a hand if it becomes necessary." Ryou scowled when Marik chuckled. "I am serious, Marik!"

"I know, I know." Marik ruffled his hair. "But, your place is here. You are a healer, Ryou. Your job is to save lives, not to take them."

"Nevertheless," Ryou began firmly. "I will take them if I must. Healing is not my only talent."

Marik nodded. "Bakura saw to that. He would be proud to hear what you are saying now."

Ryou flushed at the praise. "Is he alright? Have you heard from him lately?"

"No," Marik replied grimly. "There has been no news from the Sylvantian border, but I expect word soon."

Ryou's heart twisted at how grim Marik sounded. He hoped Bakura wasn't getting himself into too much trouble.


"You don't like it?"

"No, it's beautiful," Yuugi touched the winged crown sitting in a velvet-covered box. It was a smaller version of the one Atemu wore, except it bore an emerald to represent that he was a time mage.

"Thank you for bringing it to me, Mai."

Mai patted him on the shoulder. "It was no trouble at all. I was already looking for you."

"Oh, is something the matter?"

Mai smiled. "No, Sugoroku asked me to find you. He's quite worried about you. And to be frank, so am I."

"I'm sorry," Yuugi's stomach twisted at the thought of worrying his grandfather and the people around him. "I'm not trying to worry anyone."

"I know," Mai soothed. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Every day. Has there been any word?"

"Yes, Captain Reyna sent me a message saying His Majesty is quite well, and vigorous in battle."

Yuugi grinned at the news. "I hope he isn't giving his troops any trouble." He frowned suddenly. "Has there been any news about… You know...?"

"No," Mai frowned sternly, "I doubt there will be considering no one knows that Jounouchi snuck out. Mahad was quite displeased when he found out. Seto will be furious if he catches him on the battlefield."

"He will be angry," Yuugi agreed, chuckling. "But, he'll also be relieved that Jounouchi is safe and sound. Jounouchi excellent with the sword so he should be safe until they find each other."

"Mahad told me he's impressed with Jounouchi's skills, but the fact remains that he should not be out there. He should be here with you. He is your guardian, isn't he?"

Yuugi frowned in confusion. "Guardian?"

"Sugoroku told me you and Jounouchi have been friends since childhood," Mai said. "Jounouchi has always been there for you, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has."

"Then I assume he was your guardian and protector when you were growing up, and even now."

Yuugi chuckled. "Jounouchi is my very best friend in this world, Mai. I don't really consider him my guardian. Did Seers have guardians?"

"The children did." Mai placed her hand on her chin in thought. "Our records say child Seers were given guardians because of their vulnerability during visions. It also depended on what element they were blessed with."

"Were many of them blessed with dangerous elements?"

"Yes, it seemed a lot of them were blessed with shadow, sealing, time or fire."

"Shadow, Sealing, Time and Fire," Yuugi repeated. "All the elements that take long periods of time to control."

"It truly was a wonder to see so many Seers and Guardians about back then." Mai smiled sadly. "I wonder if they ever forgave us for all we did."

"I'm sure they did. But Mai, neither Atemu nor Emperor Aknamknanon's reign has anything to do with the destruction of the Seers."

"I know, but it was still Elysian's fault no matter whose reign it is. This was the Seers' home and sanctuary, and they were killed here. We know Leon didn't have to leave us the prophecy about the war, but he did and we will always be eternally grateful. That's why we treat you like the precious person you are, Yuugi."

Yuugi's heart clenched at the despair he heard in Mai's voice. "Mai..." He'd always had a feeling that Atemu and the Council felt that way about it, but never to this extent.

Feeling humbled, Yuugi reached forwards and grasped Mai's hand in his own. "Thank you, Mai, but something has been bothering me since this whole war started. What do Dartz and Pegasus want with me? What happened when they disappeared?"

Mai's lips thinned. "Dartz said Leviathan wants you, for a reason that still eludes us. As for Pegasus; he is Dartz' puppet in this whole fiasco."

"Leviathan? The Atlantian Sea God and one of the Trinity? What could Leviathan possibly want with me?"

"I don't know, but we've marched to the fields of battle to make sure it doesn't happen. No matter what we will not allow Dartz or Pegasus to lay a finger on you."

"And I believe Atemu won't allow that to happen, but what about Leviathan? Do you really stand a chance if he shows up? I remember the legends. Leviathan has a close link with this world through the royal family of Atlantis. He could appear at any time."

Much to Yuugi's surprise, Mai shook her head. "That's not exactly true. The legends also state that Leviathan and Ra fell into a deep slumber to recover from the Ethereal War. I have no doubt Leviathan is much too weak to come into this world completely without any help."

"So we don't have to worry about him?"

"Not for the time being," Mai replied. "We are safe for now."

"What about Pegasus, then? Can't we convince him to join our side?"

"Pegasus joined Dartz for the sole reason of saving his wife, Cecelia, who has a lung disease. Dartz gave him a cure in return for participating in the war."

"No luck there," Yuugi murmured. He wasn't going to push turning to Pegasus. Even he knew a King or Emperor's word was his bond.

"Atemu would be proud of you," Mai said softly. "Seeing you here, trying to figure out a way to help."

"Of course, this is my fault after all." Yuugi winced when Mai sent him a glare for his words. He pressed on nonetheless. "I don't want to sit here and wait for him to come home. I want to help in some way, shape, or form."

"You're helping by staying here and being safe. Atemu can concentrate fully on the battlefield knowing you're here, safe and sound."

"I hope you're right."


A/N : The war has started, and all the players are on the field, but what does Leviathan really want with Yuugi? Keep reading to find out.