Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Chaos Arc

Chapter 3: Walkuran Ritt

A scream echoed across the night…

Ashley- 0

Ashley stumbled backwards, clutching her arms and staring in horror as her last monster was blown apart. "No…I lost?"

"Unfortunately that you did, my dear." A cultured German accent echoed from across the small field that the two of them were standing in. "And as such…your Penalty Game!"

Another scream echoed across the island of Duelist's Academy.

-

The next morning was rather quiet across the island, until…

From within a huge mass of blankets a single brown ear flicks at the sound of someone knocking on a door. The mass shuffled aside enough to reveal a single hazel eye that went over to look at a clock on a desk. ("It's four o'clock in the morning…") Groaning, Ichigo slid out of bed and like a mummy started to shamble over towards the door. It didn't help that he was still covered in head to toe with blankets.

A couple of minutes later he was nearly there, but still had that last difficult few feet to go. ("Must…not…fall…asleep…") He had nearly made it when a fist punched a hole in the wood of the door. "….Huh?"

The hand reached down, unlocked the door, and then Rikuo Amero stepped into the room with fires burning in his eyes. "Hello there, son-in-law." To avoid any arguments over that fact he held up the contract that stated it was truth.

Ichigo was awake instantly. "…………………….." Some of the blankets fell off of his frame and collapsed to the ground, making him feel a lot more exposed.

Rikuo cracked his knuckles loudly. "Let's have a man to man talk, shall we?" Then he started his advance.

-

Griff sighed from inside the bathroom and stared at his…tail…as it flicked back and forth. ("I…have a tail….")

("So you do. I'd suggest you stop acting like how you have been when you think about this 'predicament'. You and I are together like Ahran and Ichigo are together. While I don't like it, I must tolerate it for that is the way life works.")

Griff paled and brushed a few locks of his much wilder black hair out of his eyes. ("Terra? You're still around?")

("I will be around until someone removes my soul from yours. Do not bother trying to remove me through force, or I will kill your soul on my way out. Am I making myself perfectly clear?")

Griff gulped and nodded. ("Crystal clear…")

-

Ichigo grumbled something uncomplimentary about his evil new 'father-in-law' while applying some anti-septic to his now black eye. "He came all this way so early in the morning just for the opportunity to beat the living crap out of me?"

("You have to understand something about my father, Ichigo. He is a very jealous and protective type of person. And where Eri is concerned, he probably wishes that she'd never feel the touch of a man other than him. She's his princess, after all.")

("It isn't like I'm going to do anything to or with her! I didn't even know about this stupid fiancée thing until it was too late to change it!")

Another knock at the door brought him out of his conversation with Ahran. "Who is it?"

"Pilkington, open this door before I add to the hole my father made."

Sighing, the half-demon slid out of his chair and walked over to open the door. "Hello there, my dear Eri. What can this lowly dog do for his queen?" His words dripped sarcasm.

"Shut up and listen to me," she walked past him and sat down in his chair. "Last night…Ashley was found in a coma."

"Ashley?" Ichigo blinked in surprise. "Why come to me about it?"

"Because she was not the first," The demoness turned in his chair to look out the window. "Ebony was also found just a little earlier that night in a similar condition. Someone on the island is apparently attacking the girls of the academy. The Headmaster has just contacted father and told him about this. Though he said that he would find the culprit, I'm not so sure it is that easy. This enemy only targets females, apparently, and possesses enough power to escape detection. We need female duelists of excellent caliber to catch this criminal…"

Ichigo flushed bright red and crossed his arms. "No way in hell! I'm not going to help your crazy scheme!"

Eri narrowed her eyes and snapped her hand out to grab Ichigo's jacket. "Listen here Pilkington! My friends are having their souls stolen and you're going to help me catch whoever is doing it! If you don't then I swear I'll kill you and they'll never find the body, because I'll eat it!"

Ichigo stood there, dumbfounded. "…………………..So……….what do I need to do?"

-

Later that evening Ichigo sighed and looked down at her uniform, which fit just as loosely as it did every night. ("Why won't this stupid curse go away?")

("I wish I could do something about it as well, because this is something that I find it constantly difficult to get used to.") Even though he couldn't see his other half, Ichigo knew that Ahran was blushing.

("Don't worry about it, this shouldn't take too long. After all, Sammy is checking one part of the island, and Eri is checking another. Before long this guy will run into one of us and get destroyed.")

-

Sammy stumbled backwards as an explosion of light tore across her field, blowing her last remaining monster away and wiping out what remained of her life points. "Eri…"

A few moments later her scream reached two pairs of very sensitive demon ears.

-

Eri and Ichigo both reached the location the scream had come from at the same time. And at the same time they both saw a single shadowed form rush away from the small clearing that the duel had been in and off into the forest.

Eri's first thought was to kill the man, and as such he actually leapt over Sammy's fallen body and charged into the brush.

Ichigo slid to a halt and started checking Sammy's vital signs. ("She's alive…but something about the way she is breathing.")

("There is no will left to live in this one. Her soul has been removed from this shell.") Ahran said each word with a deep distaste.

Ichigo frowned and knew that if this guy wasn't stopped, then more people would wind up like this. ("I'm going to teach this guy one hell of a lesson.")

-

Eri slid to a stop as he felt the scent of whoever he was pursuing dissipate into the air around him. ("Could I have actually lost my prey? That's not possible. Whoever they are, they couldn't have run too far.")

Then he sensed it more than felt it. It felt something similar to a distortion in the air. "I can feel you near me. Who are you and what did you do to Sammy?"

"Sammy? Oh, I assume you mean the brown-haired one that I just defeated," the voice was vaguely European and very haughty. "Was she yours?"

"Answer me!" Eri bared his claws.

From within the shadows of this particular clearing, the male voice chuckled and the sound of a duel disk activating echoed across the field. "Prepare to fight me for the right of knowledge."

Eri already had his disk in place. "I will crush you and steal your soul away. Prepare to die."

"We shall see…" The owner of the voice drew and opened the field magic card slot on his disk. "We shall see…"

-

("Ichigo, do you even have any idea where you are going?") Ahran's voice sounded exasperated.

("Honestly, I'm not so sure anymore. This place is a real confusing area. All the smells around here just kind of lump together.") The half-demon looked left and then right, unsure of where Eri had run off to.

-

"Death Cregit Mage attacks now…"

"Not so fast, you triggered my trap!"

-

("Maybe she went this way?") Ichigo charged down another trail, only to run face-first into a tree. ("Or…possibly not.")

Then she heard it. A small explosion not too far away. ("Over there?") Charging full speed, she leapt over and through any obstacles to get to the area straightaway.

When she finally reached the area she broke through the brush and stumbled into another clearing.

"You played well…but now it's time to pay the metaphorical piper."

Ichigo's blood ran cold upon hearing that. "No…"

Eri stumbled, smoke wafting off of his in certain points where he had sustained hits during the duel. ("But….how…") He started to fall…

Only to be caught by a pair of slender yet strong arms. "Eri…please don't go…" Ichigo stared numbly at the pair of crimson-gold eyes that were slowly losing their spark of life.

"Pilkington…don't……..fail……" Eri smiled slightly, and then went silent. His eyes reflected emptiness, and nothing more.

"Such a shame, for the boy had such potential." The man, who was still obscured by shadow, re-shuffled his deck and looked at Ichigo. "You're the last one I need, little girl. So come forward and prepare yourself to battle."

Ichigo didn't respond, instead opting to continue to look at the face of the now soulless Eri.

"Didn't you hear me? Stand up and fight." The man's tone took on a much graver disposition.

Ichigo tilted her head back and howled up into the night, sorrow radiating from the cry.

-On the other side of the island, Rikuo Amero's eyes opened wide at the noise…and then he drew his sword. "My old friend….let's go kill the bastard who dared to harm my princess!"

-

The man stepped into the moonlight to reveal a cyan-colored business suit and a head-full of similar colored hair. "You must be Ichigo Pilkington…the girl with the soul of a boy. With your defeat I will have the last piece of my quest completed." His disk beeped and snapped into place. "I can't wait."

Ichigo slowly stood up, holding a single card in her hands. "Why…why?"

"Because it is what must be done. Those who lost to me have sacrificed themselves for the greater cause of my success." The man brushed some dirt off of his shirt. "Just one more soul and my true power will be achieved. I will be the world champion of Duel Monsters."

Ichigo wasn't listening anymore. Her irises had contracted to pinpoints. "Unforgivable…I cannot…I will not…allow you to get away with this!" An explosion of moonlight tore all around her, and blinded the man. When he looked again what he saw could only be described as impressive.

A now male Ichigo stood across the field, his eyes boring holes through the eyes of his opponent. On his back were white feathered wings that stretched out and then folded against his back. "I will not let you escape! Prepare to die!" He shoved the card he had been holding into his deck, shuffled, and then drew five cards.

The man drew five as well. "I am Octavian…and your soul is mine."

Ichigo- 4000

Octavian- 4000

Ichigo drew, unconcerned by the wings that remained on his back. "You will pay…I swear it! Go Cyber Shadow-Shield Bearer (0/2400) in defense mode!" A humanoid warrior in a black body-suit appeared on the field with a large riot shield in front of him. "Then I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn!"

Octavian drew. "Your skill is already apparent to me…but it will not be enough to win this battle. Observe as I crush you in this turn with my perfect strategy." He opened his field magic card slot and slid a card in. "First though, the power of the Chaos Dimension!" Everything around them blurred and warped. "In this place, I roll a single die and depending on the number a different effect will be determined." Opening his hand, he revealed a single white die. Overturning his hand, he dropped the item to the ground. It bounced around crazily until it stopped on a one. "That was perfect, as always. Now all monsters on my field will get a 700 attack point bonus."

Ichigo stood unflinching, the wings on his back flapping occasionally.

Octavian laughed quietly and slid a card into his disk. "Go Ride of the Valkyries! Now I special summon all Valkyrie monsters in my hand to the field immediately! At the end of my turn they are sent back into my deck!" Grabbing three cards from his hand, he slapped all of them onto his disk. "Awaken now, my mighty warriors of the sky!"

Three Amazon-like woman on horseback appeared on the field. "First, I summon Valkyrie Sovite (1600/1600) in attack mode!" The first woman had pink hair.

The next one had aquamarine hair. "Valkyrie Altest's (1600/1600) also arrives."

Hmphing, the third Valkyrie glared at her master. "Ah yes, and Valkyrie Dritt (1000/1600) is last, but not ever least. And thanks to the power of the Chaos Dimension, my monsters get a power boost!"

Valkyrie Sovite (2300/1600)

Valkyrie Altest (2300/1600)

Valkyrie Dritt (1700/1600)

Ichigo still didn't flinch. "My creature has a defense total of 2400, which is 100 more than your creatures' attack strengths."

Octavian chuckled again and pointed to the pink-haired Valkyrie on his field. "Valkyrie Sovite's ability will destroy one monster on your field when she is summoned. You're finished!" A glowing rain of glitter fell around the Shield Bearer, but the monster didn't disappear. "What?"

Ichigo held up one of his face-down cards. "Shadow Barrier protects my monster from effects this turn, making your entire strategy useless."

Octavian froze slightly, his eyes wide. No one had even stopped his Valkyrie's charge before. "I'm not done yet. I play the magic card Planar Chains! This will prevent any monsters on my field from leaving until the beginning of your next turn, which means that my monsters are safe. End turn."

Ichigo drew. "Actually…no they're not." His face-down card flipped up. "Or have you never heard of Flash Bang?" An echoing mix of sound and smoke rocked across Octavian's field, leaving all of his three Valkyries stumbling. "This trap card can only work when I have a Cyber Shadow on the field. It will cut the attack of your monsters in half for this turn."

Valkyrie Sovite (1150/1600)

Valkyrie Altest (1150/1600)

Valkyrie Dritt (850/1600)

Octavian gritted his teeth as the power the Chaos Dimension granted him disappeared.

"That's not all though," Ichigo held up two cards. "I'll use Polymerization to fuse Shield Bearer with Cyber Shadow-Ninja (1100/200) to create this!" A woman in a black body-suit appeared next to the shield-carrier and the two were sucked into a glowing vortex. When the vortex faded a monster stood on the field that was a woman surrounded by a glowing suit of prismatic armor. "Cyber Shadow-Shield Shogun (1500/2500) in attack mode." The woman looked at each of the three Valkyries in turn and then cracked her knuckles.

"You'll only be able to destroy one of my creatures, so don't get so cocky." Octavian was more than angry now. He was flat out pissed that some little punk had stopped his quick-kill strategy.

Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "I activate the equipment magic card Special Operative Weapon-Plasma Shotgun!" A heavy shotgun appeared in the hands of the Shield Shogun. "This card increases my monsters attack points by 300 and gives it the power to attack everything you have on the field! Go now, Shotgun Spread!" (1800/2500) The woman lifted the weapon and when it fired a spray of red light slammed into each Valkyrie and blew them all apart.

Ichigo- 4000

Octavian- 1750

Ichigo didn't show any emotion. "And the effect of my Shield Shogun switches her into defense mode at my end phase. End turn." The woman shouldered the heavy weapon and fell to one knee.

Octavian drew. "That was indeed an impressive performance on your part, boy. However…I didn't get to my status of dueling by letting myself collapse to pressure! I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Ichigo drew. "I'll make you pay for what you did to Eri…starting right now! Go Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards off of his deck. "And now I summon Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh (300/200) in attack mode!" A little furball in a tuxedo appeared on his field. "This little guy's special power activates when I discard one card from my hand. Go Cuteness Espionage!" Giggling, the little Kuriboh disappeared.

Octavian blinked in surprise as something popped up out of the ground at his feet. It was the Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh wearing a little miner's hat. "What in the world…" The furball hopped up out of the hole, grabbed the top card of his deck, and then disappeared.

Ichigo smirked as the Kuriboh appeared on his head and handed him the card. "Thanks much, friend." Then he looked at the card and his expression turned into something of pure horror. "What in the hell….is this…"

Octavian smirked. "Well, are you going to play the card or not?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth, unsure what this card meant. "I….will switch Shield Shogun into attack mode and blast your monster apart. Go now, Shotgun Spray!" The woman lifted the gun up and blew the set monster apart.

Octavian picked up the card and slid it into his graveyard. "You destroyed my Jar of Wealth (200/300) and when it is flipped up and I have no cards in my hand I can roll a die and draw a number of cards equal to the rolled number." He held up his hand, which held a single white die. Like before, he dropped it and it clattered to a stop next to his shoe. "Four is the number." He drew four cards and smirked.

Ichigo growled and pointed at him. "Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh attacks you directly!" The little furball pulled out a cork gun from its tuxedo and fired a single cork across the field that hit Octavian in the cheek. "Then I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo- 4000

Octavian- 1450

The man snickered and drew. "I know what card you drew…and it frightens you, doesn't it?" He inserted a card into his disk. "Well it isn't going to get any easier for you now. I activate the magic card Treasure of Nibelung. This magic card lets me play the Nibelung Ring equipment magic card from my deck and attach it to your monster." A silver ring fell around the waist of the Shield Shogun. "As long as this card is in play, your monster cannot be controlled by you. Also, now each turn you will draw two cards from your deck. If either of those cards are monsters, then you must discard one hand card before continuing that turn."

Ichigo growled, the wings that still sat folded on his back flapping slightly.

"That isn't all though," Octavian's slid across his deck and he held up five cards. "Treasure of Nibelung also lets me draw five cards." Inserting the cards into his hand, he took one of his now nine and slid it into his field magic card slot. "I play the field magic card Sanctuary of the Valkyries-Valhalla! This field card fuses with Chaos Dimension to create Chaos Valhalla!" Everyone around them warped and shifted into a cloudy field, with the sounds of battle off in the distance. "Welcome to my battlefield, where I go to in my dreams."

Ichigo glanced around at the mist and then bared his fangs. "I'm going to make you burn."

"Not much in the mood for talking?" Octavian slid two cards into his disk. "Then let me set two cards face-down and show the effect of my Chaos Valhalla. Now I will play every Valkyrie in my hand immediately to the field when I draw them. Also, they gain a fifty percent power boost." Grasping two cards from his hands, he threw them both onto his disk. "Come out now, Valkyrie Altest and two Valkyrie Dritt!" Two red-haired Valkyries and one aquamarine one appeared on his field. "These ladies now get a power boost!"

Valkyrie Dritt (2550/1600)

Valkyrie Altest (3150/1600)

"Go Altest, crush his Kuriboh!" Yelling out a battle cry, the aquamarine-haired warrior woman charged across the field on her horse, sword raised to cut through Ichigo's monster.

The Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh pulled a little string next to it and a huge wall shot up in between the two duelists and their fields, effectively cutting off Octavian's attack. "You triggered my Alert Tripwire quickplay magic card. This negates your attacks this turn and lets me draw cards equal to the number of Cyber Shadows on the field." Ichigo drew twice.

Octavian chuckled and slid a card into his disk. "Perhaps so, but I play the magic card Alternate Dimension. This card lets me transport my three Valkyries off of the field and back into my deck. Then I may select three new Valkyries and add them to my hand." Shuffling the three cards into his deck, the man removed three different ones. "I need to use my best weapons to defeat you now. These three of my ladies will crush you beneath their blades. End turn."

Ichigo stood there, his eyes closed. ("If I can attack his life points directly this turn, I will win. However…") His eyes opened and looked at the two set cards. ("The chances he is bluffing are too low…what will I do?")

Octavian felt the pulse of each of the three Valkyries in his hand. ("Your power will win…for I have worked far too hard collecting each of your souls.")

To be continued…