Here's the third chapter. Kind of short, but the future ones will make up for that.

Chapter 10: Battles of Power and Speed

They followed Daine as he led them through the trees. Every now and then, they saw blood. When Malon had bitten Thanatos, his wound had been made even worse. It at least proved they were going the right way.

Hope didn't speak of it, but she was still feeling very shaky from what had happened. There were few occasions where she had felt as terrified as then. She knew it would be a long time, if she ever did, before she forgot the cold water that had been stealing her life away, slowly but surely.

Eventually, they entered a clearing, and saw Thanatos standing in it. His right arm was in a bad shape, but he ignored it as he faced them.

"You are getting very persistent," Thanatos stated.

"We don't intend to give you the chance to recover," Mana said grimly.

"Fine then. I'll just have to slay all of you. Since my assault on Hope failed, I suppose I'll move on to someone else. Larka, I will challenge you now."

"I was sure I would have to face you soon," Larka sighed. "Malon? Are you ready?"

Malon barked, and leapt out of her arms.

"Then I'm ready," Larka stated, turning on her Duel Disk.

Fell watched silently. He was not comfortable with the idea of his sister dueling Thanatos, but he knew she had to.

Larka: 8000

Thanatos: 8000

"You went first last time; it's only fair I do so now," Larka stated. "I lay one monster in defense mode and one other card. That's it."

"I summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) He attacks your defense monster."

"It's my Twilight Zone Female Warrior. (1500/1600) She has the ability to remove the monsters she battles from the game, along with herself. So I'll have her remove your Demon Soldier, and she is removed as well."

"Not a big loss. I lay one card face down and end my turn."

"I summon Volt Girl. (1900/800) Then I equip her with Shine Castle. This raises her attack by 700. (2600/800) She attacks you directly! Then I am done."

Larka: 8000

Thanatos: 5400

"I will first play Jar of Greed." Thanatos smirked at his draw. "Perfect. I play Lair of Ten-Thousand Demon Lords."

Malon whimpered and pressed himself against Larka's right leg as the field emerged.

"Then I summon Warrior of Zera. (1600/1600) And I sacrifice him for Devil Mazera. (2800/2300) He forces you to discard three cards from your hand. Since you have two, you lose your entire hand."

"I activate Tidal Wave, causing all of the monsters on the field to be destroyed!"

"You are still required to discard the two cards you have."

"I lose my Blade Knight and Dunamis Valkyria then…"

"I play Rebirth of the Dead. By discarding a card from my hand-in this case, my Magic Guarder-I am allowed to put a monster back in my hand. I choose Devil Mazera. Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead, to revive Warrior of Zera. Then I sacrifice him to special summon Devil Mazera again."

"Wait! Why would you go through all of that when you could have just revived Mazera?"

"He can only be special summoned when I sacrifice Warrior of Zera for him. I will have him attack you directly."

Larka: 5200

Thanatos: 5400

"Both are without hands," Mana noticed. "Still, even though Mazera is Thanatos' only card, he's got the advantage."

"Don't count Larka out yet," Hope replied.

Larka sighed in relief when she saw her card. "I play Sealing Swords of Light. This makes it so that you cannot attack for three turns."

"A small set back. I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"It's the second turn for Swords. I summon Ninja Master-Sasuke! (1800/1000) He attacks your defense monster!"

"My Death Rook Demon has enough defense to survive. (1100/1800) Is that it?"

"Yes."

"I lay another monster in defense mode. That's all."

"Third turn for Swords," she reminded him as she drew. "I lay a monster of my own in defense mode. Then I attack your Rook with Sasuke."

"What is the point in that?"

"Sasuke's effect allows him to destroy monsters in face up defense mode. So your Rook is automatically destroyed. That's it."

"I lay one card down, and end."

"My Swords are gone," Larka stated, discarding the magic card. "I activate Shine Spark. This field magic card will get rid of your Lair. It raises all of my Light Main-Types attacks by 500, and lowers their defense by 400." (2300/600)

Hope looked around at the bright field. "It may be hard to see, but I like this a lot more than the Lair."

"Sasuke attacks your defense monster."

"My Inferno Queen Demon is destroyed."

"That will be all for me."

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and attack Sasuke with Mazera. That is it."

Larka: 4700

Thanatos: 5400

"I pass," Larka stated, looking at her new card.

"I lay another monster in defense mode, and have Mazera attack your defense monster."

"It was another Dunamis Valkyria. (2300/650)"

"I end my turn."

"Hm… Malon, I need you to use your effect."

Malon let out a mournful howl. As he did so, a Wandering Hero, Freed appeared. (2200/800)

"Now I will remove my two Dunamis Valkyrias to destroy Mazera by Freed's effect. Then Freed attacks your first defense monster."

"My Shadow Knight Demon is destroyed. (2000/1600)"

"I'm done."

Thanatos seemed pleased with what he got next. "I sacrifice my face down Hell Pawn Demon (1200/200) for Swift Lightning Demon King-Skull Demon. (2500/1200) He attacks Freed. That is it."

Larka: 4400

Thanatos: 5400

"This doesn't look good…" Larka muttered as she drew. "Oh, maybe this will work. I activate Theft, on your Skull Demon!"

"His effect is activated," Thanatos stated. "A die is rolled. If it is a one, three, or six, then your targeting card is negated and destroyed."

The die landed on…

"A three," Larka sighed. "Luck isn't with me today. I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"I must pay 500 Life Points to keep Skull Demon on the field."

Everyone winced as the Demon slashed Thanatos with its wicked claws.

Larka: 4400

Thanatos: 4900

"I summon another Shadow Knight Demon. (2000/1600) Shadow Demon attacks."

"It's my Blade Knight…" (2100/600)

"Then Skull Demon attacks you directly. It is your move."

Larka: 1900

Thanatos: 4900

Larka looked at her next card. "Thank goodness. I lay one monster in defense mode."

"When you do, I activate my trap card, Seal of Blood, on Shadow Knight. Now, when I am forced to pay for him, you are as well."

"…I end…" Larka looked at her Life Point count worriedly.

The Skull Demon and Shadow Knight slashed Thanatos before the Shadow Knight turned on Larka.

Larka: 1000

Thanatos: 3500

"Then I attack your defense monster with Shadow Knight."

"It's my Marshmallon. (800/100) Because you attacked him in face down defense mode, you lose 1000 Life Points. And he cannot be destroyed in battle."

Larka: 1000

Thanatos: 2500

"It doesn't matter. I lay one card down and end my turn."

"No… I have to pass…" Larka said nervously.

The Demons once more took the blood they desired.

Larka: 100

Thanatos: 1100

"At this rate, it will end in a tie," Hope realized.

"Not quite," Thanatos smirked. "I lay one card face down, and end my turn."

"Well… a tie is better than losing," Larka stated. "So I will end my turn."

Thantos smiled coldly. "On my draw phase, I activate my trap, Alter of Sacrifice. I sacrifice one of my monsters, and gain that many Life Points. So I sacrifice Skull Demon."

Larka: 100

Thanatos: 3600

"Then I'm finished…"

"Yes. Shadow Knight deals us both 900 damage."

Larka braced herself, but the sword still came down. It was the same as before, but this time it seemed more painful to Larka, since it spoke of her death.

Larka: 0

Thanatos: 2700

Malon howled once more as Larka watched her Duel Disk deactivate.

"That's it then…" she murmured, looking up. And then she caught sight of Thanatos' eyes, and froze. This was how Claire had felt, she realized. These eyes were death themselves, they had to be. He was coming, he would kill her, she couldn't stop it, nothing could stop it, it was her destiny to die…

Thantos suddenly charged. His speed was incredible-Hope could hardly see him.

Then a black blur sped by, crashing into Thanatos. The two fighters, still in the air, fought each other so swiftly and savagely that it was impossible to keep up.

Larka stepped back, pale as she watched. Malon whined frantically.

Then one was sent crashing into the ground. They were only able to watch in disbelief as Fell tried to rise, only to fall back with a snarl of pain.

Thantos landed nearby. His chest had several deep claw slashes, and his arms were bleeding as well.

Damn it… I didn't expect him to interfere, Thanatos thought. Usually, he would stay out of the way to avoid risking himself… why the hell did he attack me now? I didn't think he'd do that, even for his sister… And without another word, Thanatos ran out of the clearing.

Larka ran over to her brother, kneeling down beside him. He had several chest wounds as well, both deep cuts and possibly broken ribs. His right arm had a deep gash in it, and his left was in an odd position. His right leg also seemed wounded, and he had several cuts on his body, all bleeding fiercely. He was unconscious at the moment, so at first Larka thought he might be dead. But he was breathing, to her relief.

Larka, seeing the state he was in, could not help herself. She broke down, crying heavily. Malon was still whimpering, and Daine sat down beside his master, letting out a howl of his own, one that told everyone of his grief.

To be continued…