Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 6: Pushing Back

Rikuo drew and looked at his card. He smiled just enough to reveal a fang. "Oh I beg to differ Aishito. In fact watch as your entire strategy crumbles around you before this turn is over. For you see I play..."

"...the magic card Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards off the top of my deck." He drew his two cards and laughed. "I love it when I get to do this."

Aishito frowned angrily. "Get to do what?"

"Get to turn a bad duel around, of course." He slid one of his two cards into his duel disk. "First I activate the magic card Brain Control, which allows me to seize control of your monster for one turn." He snapped his clawed hand up to point at Jinzo. "So come to me Jinzo!" A purple brain appeared on his field and shot out a wave of pulsing energy. It hit Jinzo and the metal monster was pulled over to Rikuo's field.

Aishito snickered. "It's only for one turn."

Rikuo slid his next card into his duel disk. "One turn is all the time I need. I play Monster Reborn to revive one of the two monsters that Daniel discarded to the graveyard because of your Give and Take magic effect. I'm sure if you know Daniel's deck so well then you know what the best fusion he has is right?"

Aishito grimaced. "So that's what you are going to summon?"

Rikuo nodded as the armor-clad demon known as the Wolf Demon Lord (2400/1000) appeared on his field. "Right. Reveal face-down card, Polymerization!" The two creatures slid into each other, a vortex forming on the field where they connected. When the vortex cleared a being that looked like the Wolf Demon Lord wearing Jinzo's steel armor appeared on the field. "Aishito, you're finished! Steel Wolf General (3400/2000), attack his Shiraku now!" The metal monster launched across the field and in one slash Aishito's mystic was destroyed.

Daniel- 2400

Aishito- 5000

Aishito chuckled. "Did you forget the special ability of my Shiraku the Mystic? When he is destroyed in battle I may play any magic card from my graveyard for the paltry payment of a 1000 life points. So I'll pay that 1000 life points so that I can activate the magic card Offerings to the Doomed!"

Daniel- 2400

Aishito- 4000

A red beam of light exploded from his graveyard and hit the Steel Wolf General, blowing it apart. "That's the end of your ultimate monster!" He sneered at the prospect of seeing the mighty demon general Rikuo Amero sweat. That wasn't the reaction he got though.

Rikuo burst into laughter. A full minute passed and finally the demon calmed down enough to explain. "You've just destroyed yourself and you don't even realize it."

Aishito narrowed his eyes angrily. "You're bluffing demon. With your Steel Wolf General gone your life points are wide open to attack."

Rikuo sighed and wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye. "I needed a good laugh. Thank you very much for delivering it and a victory to me." Apparently he wasn't listening to his opponent.

Aishito's business-like exterior was starting to melt beneath the burning rage he felt at being laughed at. "DON'T TOY WITH ME!!!"

Instantly Rikuo was calm, his eyes shimmering with an intensity that only a general who saw victory in sight could accomplish. "Fine. The special ability of Steel Wolf General is that when he is destroyed I may special summon Wolf Demon Lord from my graveyard to the field." The ground in front of him exploded in a spray of holographic dirt and the demon samurai leapt back onto the field. "Then I flip up my face-down trap card, Call of the Haunted."

The ground next to the Wolf Demon Lord shuddered and another form exploded free of the ground. "This trap allows me to revive one monster from my graveyard. That means Jinzo returns to this field." The metal monster crossed its arms across its chest and chuckled coldly.

"Now take a look at your field. All you have is the combo that forces me to discard my hand. Add that to the fact that your Offerings to the Doomed magic card stops you from drawing a card next turn..."

Aishito finished the sentence for Rikuo, his eyes wide. "...and that means I've lost."

Rikuo snickered. "And here I thought the idiot was in trouble. He had the entire win needed for this duel right in front of him."

Aishito reached into his coat pocket slowly for his gun, only to find the tip of a claw touching his neck.

"Now now, play nice or else I might just have to hurt you," Rikuo said from right next to him. "Give the boy back his mother, and get out of here. I don't feel like spilling your black blood this evening." He removed his claw from Aishito's neck and motioned to the back door. "Well? Are you going to take me there or am I going to have to carry you? Either way is fine with me."

Aishito tugged on his tie and tried to salvage what remained of his thoroughly destroyed dignity. "I can take you there with my own two feet, thank you very much."

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Saito snarled. "You think you can win in this spirit duel against me? I highly doubt your pitiful deck can withstand the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, mister...?"

Deondre chuckled. "Since you are going to lose your soul, I will give you my name." The darkness of the orb fully reformed as the darkness game came back into effect. "I am Valeus, your executioner."

Saito rolled his eyes at the cliché line. "My turn is done, so let's see if you can make that fool's deck work for you. By the way, what are you anyway?"

Valeus waved a finger at his opponent. "I'm not telling." He drew a card off the top of the deck, glanced at it, and a smile broke out across his face. "What a perfect draw for this situation." He flicked the card into the air above him. "I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode." The phantasmal form of the purple-robed sorcerer appeared in the air above him, limed in Valeus's own purple spiritual energy.

Saito rolled his eyes at how cliché this entire duel was becoming. "Let me guess; now you activate the magic card Magical Silk Hats?"

Valeus chuckled. "My, how'd you guess?" He motioned to one of his cards and it launched into the field next to the Dark Magician. It flipped over and the area around the Dark Magician was shrouded in fog for a few seconds. When the fog cleared all that was left were four black silk top hats where the Dark Magician had been.

Valeus motioned to another card in his hand zone. "That's not all though. I also set one trap card within my Magical Silk Hats." The hats above him began to shuffle rapidly, until they were one big black blur. Then the card shot into the blur and disappeared. Then the hats came to a complete stop, looking exactly the same as they did before. "End turn."

Saito drew and chuckled. "I hope you consider yourself a very lucky man, because I'm about to turn your entire strategy into nothing."

Valeus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Let's see what you are talking about. Prove to me that I am actually in trouble."

Saito flicker his new card into the air above him. "Fine. First I summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack mode." Another of the enormous white scaled dragons appeared on his field roaring, the sound loud enough to shake the ground slightly.

Valeus crossed his arms across his chest and waited patiently. "By all means, finish me off if you can."

Saito motioned to another of his cards. It flipped over and released a burst of light that hit one of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons. "I activate the equipment magic card Fairy Meteor Crush! This allows my dragon to deal damage through defense!"

Valeus shrugged casually, almost as it didn't bother him that if he lost his soul would be destroyed. "Whatever you say. I'm sure that your little play might impress an amateur, but then again..." He smiled, "I'm not an amateur."

Saito growled and pointed at the far left hat. "You can talk big, but consider who is on the defensive right now! Blue-Eyes, Burst Stream!" One of the two dragons charged up its energy attack from between its jaws and it spat out a bullet of light towards the silk top hat.

Valeus chuckled. "Wow, you found the Dark Magician. That's a first." He motioned to one of his floating cards. "It's a shame that I have this trap in my hand." The card flipped and all of the Magical Silk Hats on the field blurred. "You see Shift will allow me to change the target of your attack to another of my Silk Hats. And guess which one your dragon is going to be attacking."

Saito turned a lovely shade of white. "The one with the trap card in it...."

Valeus smirked. "Bingo."

The Burst Stream hit the hat and the silk article exploded. As the smoke from the explosion cleared a card backing came into sight. The card spun around and released a glowing bullet that looked exactly like the Burst Stream that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had just fired. It shot across the field and slammed in Saito's Nuedoria, blowing the demon apart.

Valeus- 1200

Saito- 200

Valeus closed his eyes and smiled. "You've hit my Magic Cylinder trap card, which reflects your dragon's attack right back at your field. And since Nuedoria was destroyed by the attack of your Blue-Eyes White Dragon, take a wild guess at who its effect will be targeting."

Saito blanched as the remains of his Nuedoria shot across the air and slashed his Blue-Eyes dragon into pieces. He took one small consolation in all of it though. "You're still in trouble. You've just destroyed the dragon that had already attacked, so I still get one attack with my other dragon." He pointed at the center hat. "Burst Stream!" The Blue-Eyes White Dragon charged up a lump of energy within its jaws and released it, blasting the silk hat into nothingness.

Valeus smirked and motioned to the space where the hat used to be. "Sorry Saito, but no cigar. The Dark Magician resides within one of the other two hats on my field." He drew three cards and flicked them into his hand zone. "Now let's see if luck is on my side. I conceal another trap within my final empty hat." He motioned to a card on his field and it flew into one of the two hats. Then the two hats blurred slightly as they rearranged themselves. "End turn."

Saito drew twice and flicked the cards into his hand zone. Then he motioned to one of his side cards. It shot into the air and spun around, spitting out the huge scaled form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "I play Monster Reborn on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Valeus sighed and shook his head. "You're even more reliant on the damn things than Kaiba is."

That was the last straw for Saito. He motioned to one of his other cards and it shot into the air to reveal the final Blue-Eyes. "I've had enough of your insults! Blue-Eyes, wipe out his right hat with Burst Stream!" The dragon charged up its attack and fired. The bullet of light rocketed across the field to annihilate the hat and its contents.

Valeus chuckled. "That's pretty cute kid. You've guessed right twice where the Dark Magician is. Unfortunately..." He motioned to one of his side cards. "I have another Shift in my hand." The two hats exchanged positions and the trapped hat was destroyed. As the smoke cleared a glowing circle appeared around the dragon. "That means you've triggered my Spell-Binding Circle trap card, which locks up your dragon and drains it of 700 attack points."

Saito looked up at the trapped dragon and snorted. "You were there when I said that continuous trap cards fade at the end of the turn. Your trap was a waste of time."

Valeus pointed to one of his cards. "Not quite. I activate the trap card Counter Strike, which allows my Dark Magician to attack one monster on your field immediately." The last Magical Silk Hat vanished, leaving the Dark Magician hovering in the air a couple of feet from the trapped dragon, staff raised. "Good-bye Saito."

Saito's eyes widened as he looked at his hand zone. He didn't have any traps to deal with the Dark Magician's attack. "No, you can't!"

Valeus snorted. "Just watch me. Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician unleashed a blast of inverted light that instantly blew away the dragon.

Valeus- 1200

Saito- 0

Saito didn't even get a chance to scream before the darkness around him fell like a curtain, consuming him instantly. As the darkness cleared, Valeus walked over to the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards sitting on the ground and picked them up. He smirked and slid them into his pocket. ("Quite the prize I just won.")

Now that he was done dueling, he stopped for a second to look himself over. The first thing he noticed was that he was dark-skinned. He frowned and tugged on his strange clothing, and then rubbed his new chin. "Interesting indeed. Was this boy some kind of visitor from a foreign land?" He heard the sound of a door opening farther down the alley and he slid up slowly, poking his head around the corner to see who it was.

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Rikuo kept his sword inches from Aishito's body at all times, smirking. "If you dare to try anything against me, you'll find yourself dead before you ever get a chance to see me fall."

Aishito wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. He needed to figure out a way out of this situation and quickly. Suddenly his captor stopped and sniffed the air. "What's the matter now dog? Smell something nice in that garbage can?"

Rikuo glanced over at the turning point in the small alley. Something or someone was there, and whoever they were, they possessed incredible powers. He turned his attention back to Aishito. "Get moving and take me to the boy's mother. I won't bother giving you the what-if to that statement, since I assume you know just what I can and will do to you, if you dare to double-cross me."

Aishito wiped a few more beads of sweat from his forehead and went over to the rope ladder that led up to the roof.

Rikuo wrapped his free arm around the man's waist and leaped upwards, touching down on top of the roof smoothly. He dropped Aishito unceremoniously to the ground and motioned to the large jet-black helicopter that sat in the middle of the roof. "Well? Go get her."

Aishito slowly got to his feet and trudged towards the helicopter, his hands trembling. ("If he finds out the truth...I'm as good as dead.") He didn't actually have Pilkington's mother. ("But if the demon finds that out...") He didn't wish to imagine just what an enraged demon could do to him.

Rikuo followed his slowly, the Howling Sword still drawn and still ready to fight if it came to such a thing. "You're lagging Aishito. Pick up the pace." He accentuated that by giving the old man a 'gentle' shove in the back.

Aishito stumbled forward a little, using the action to draw his gun. He spun, ready to blow the demon apart.

Rikuo snorted and flicked his wrist, the Howling Sword slashing the pistol's barrel apart. "You humans are really stupid some times. Now get the boy's mother, now!!" The Howling Sword became wreathed in phantom flames. "Or else I show you just what this sword can do to the human body."

Aishito turned and approached the helicopter, pale as a sheet. "You need to understand that..."

"Say another word Aishito and I will do much worse than what that demon could do to you. On that note though....duck."

Aishito dropped to his knees as a beam of bright red light shot right past Rikuo's shoulder, right over his head, and right into the helicopter. The machine whined in protest for a moment and then it exploded, throwing Aishito backwards. Rikuo braced himself against the explosion. As it ended he turned around and looked over at the source of the beam.

A man was standing on the edge of the roof. While he wore the same black suit as Aishito and Giovan had, his long white hair and red eyes told Rikuo something he was already fairly sure of. ("A demon.")

The demon ran a clawed hand through his hair and chuckled. "Rikuo Amero, the mighty CEO killer himself. I'm going to enjoy wiping you out."

Rikuo lifted his sword up and slid into a defensive combat stance. "How so?"

The demon snickered and flexed his claws. "I would challenge you to a darkness game, but my master had requested that you remain alive for his private event." He hopped off the edge of the roof and walked over, casually grabbing the now unconscious Aishito by the back of the neck and tossing him over one shoulder. "Until that time comes, farewell General Amero. Have a pleasant rest of the evening." He turned and leaped off the roof, easily covering the short distances between the buildings as he disappeared into the distance.

Rikuo snarled, resisting the urge to follow. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the time he and Daniel had spent separated from each other had drained them both. He sniffed around the burning remains of the helicopter and frowned. There had been one human in the thing, but it wasn't a female. It had been a man. ("They never had her. Or at least Aishito didn't have her. Daniel's not going to be happy about that.")

(".........") Though Daniel didn't say anything, Rikuo could feel his presence.

("Daniel, don't worry. I have every intention of getting her back. If it wasn't for you I would never have found peace, so it's the least I could do.")

("I'm going to sleep for a little while. Like a week. Wake me up if anything important happens.")

Secretly, Rikuo loved it when Daniel gave him control of their body for long periods of time, so he didn't complain.

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Since Rikuo had absolutely no idea how to drive, he had to run back to Daniel's house. Considering evening traffic though, he probably got there faster than if he would have been able to drive.

He walked up to the front door and knocked. A few seconds passed and then the door opened to reveal a very angry Rebecca Pilkington. "Rikuo! Let me talk to Daniel right now!"

Rikuo shook his head. "He's had a very long and troubling evening. No can do."

Rebecca frowned but didn't complain. She'd chew out her brother for leaving her at school without a ride another time. "By the way, he has a guest waiting for him in the living room." She turned and stomped up to her room. "And remind me to give him a couple of good slaps next time I see him." With that said, she went up to her room and got ready for bed.

Rikuo rubbed his eyes with a claw. He should probably let Daniel take over, but in all honesty he didn't care. If this guest of Daniel's was freaked out by seeing him, then so be it. He walked into the living room saying, "If this isn't important then I suggest you come back tomorrow."

The guest calmly said, "I assure you that this is too important to wait until tomorrow for."

Rikuo froze and slowly removed his hand from his eyes. "Well this is surprising indeed."

"Believe me, I'm not here on a personal visit," Seto Kaiba said.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Kaiba's proposition