Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Chaos arc

Chapter 10: Upon the wings of an Angel Dragon

Esmin drew twice. ("Foolish boy is going to get himself killed at this rate.") "I set a monster in defense and discard one card from my hand to bring its size back down to six. End turn."

Terra drew. "You both are rather interesting. I never said the Mirror Wall Ouiju gave my monster a permanent attack increase. Oh well, such a shame."

Both Esmin and Ahran frowned at the fact that they had been tricked.

"What's the matter?" Terra feigned looking hurt. "It's not my fault. Anyway, now I summon Dark Eyes." (0/0) A pair of phantasmal red eyes appeared in the air above him. "This monster can be sacrificed to bring back any equipment magic card from my graveyard. So I'll take back Dead Spirit's After-image and equip it to my Diabound Carnel again." Another shadow of the demon appeared on his field. "Equip to Crystal Dragon!" The shade flew across the field and latched onto the Dragon. "Then Death Spiral!" (950/2750)

Ahran discarded a card from his hand just in time to catch what energy his dragon didn't stop right in the chest. Though the fountain sprinkled him with energy, it wasn't enough to remove the pain.

Terra- 4300

Esmin- 2500

Ahran- 1675

Terra slid a card into his duel disk and smirked. "End turn, whelp."

Ahran's shoulders trembled. "I…will…not…fall!" He drew twice. Looking at the two cards, his eyes widened. And then he smirked. "You're finished. I play the ritual magic card Crystal Riders Emergence! This magic card requires that I sacrifice twelve stars worth of monsters!"

Terra's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Twelve stars? Interesting…so you'll be sacrificing your Kaiser Glider and Crystal Dragon?"

"No, I'll be sacrificing my Crystal Dragon and this Different Dimension Dragon (1200/1500) in my hand." He discarded the cards into his graveyard and a screeching cry rent the darkness. "Come out now, Emerald Rider!" A warrior riding on an emerald-colored dragon floated down onto the field. (1900/1200)

Terra chuckled. "What a waste of stars…for such a piece of trash."

"Piece of trash?" Ahran held up the two cards in his hand. "Did you notice that this ritual monster was summoned from my hand to the field, instead of my ritual deck?"

"I noticed…but I still don't see why you needed twelve stars for a four star monster."

Ahran slapped two more cards onto his disk. "Then let me explain it like this! Go Sapphire and Ruby Riders!" (1900/1200X2) Two more warriors appeared, each one riding a dragon of the appropriate colors.

"So now you have four monsters…and all of them don't match up to Diabound Carnel." Terra laughed into the darkness. "I hope you summoned them in defense mode."

"No, I called them out in attack mode. End turn." Ahran didn't seem worried about the attack strength of his monsters.

Esmin drew twice. ("I'm being ignored…") If there was one thing he disliked, it was being treated as second-class. ("So I think it is time to bring their attention back to the fact that this duel is three-way.") "First I play the magic card Night Mulch. This card lets me discard monsters from my hand. For each one I discard I may either regain 1000 life points or pick up one trap card from my graveyard." He discarded five cards. "I'll pick up two traps and gain 3000 life points."

Terra- 4300

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1675

The fox demon wasn't close to done though. "Then I flip up my face-down Primordial Slime (1000/1000) which when destroyed lets me special summon one monster from my graveyard as long as it is a plant. Also, I flip up my trap card Pollen Pit. This will destroy one monster that is summoned and let me special summon a plant from my deck." A ball of green ooze appeared on his field and then exploded into dust. "So first I return Fairy King Truesdale to the field in defense mode." The elfin monarch reappeared in a crouching position on his field. (2200/1400) "Now that he is in defense mode all plant monsters on my field gains 500 attack points. And also, I call out Lord Poison in attack mode." (1500+500/1000) A horrible plant-like monster appeared on the field. "Also, I set three cards face-down and then play Card of Sanctity. We all will draw until we have six cards in our hands."

All three demons drew until they had six cards in their hands.

Esmin held up another card from his hand. "Mystical Space Typhoon will destroy your face-down card!" The card exploded into pieces. "Now I flip up Monster Reborn and revive a monster I discarded earlier! Come out, King of Plants-Direco!" (1800/2000) A huge man wearing flower robes appeared on the field. "This monster, when on the field in combination with Fairy King Truesdale, raises the attack points of all plants in play by 1000!" (Lord Poison: 3000/1000) (King of Plants-Direco: 3300/2000) "Now I attack your Diabound Carnel with Direco! Whip of Thorns!" The monster snapped up its hand and thousands of thorny rose vines exploded out of the ground and tore the snake demon apart. "And then Lord Poison attacks your Dark Familiar!" The monster launched forwards and slashed the little demon apart with its claws. "Then I set a card face-down and end my turn."

Terra- 3600

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1675

Terra's eyes slowly came over to rest on Esmin. "You just pushed me. Now I'll push back." He drew twice. "So let's start with the magic card Spider Web." The card appeared on the field and spat out a single line of silk that flew into Esmin's graveyard slot. "This effect will take the top card of your graveyard and gives it to me." He tugged the silk line and a card flew through the air to land into his hand. Flipping it over, he smirked. "Monster Reborn is mine. Then I play your Monster Reborn and then play the quickplay magic card Emergency Provisions, which lets me sacrifice both Monster Reborn and my Sacred Wealth to gain 2000 life points."

Terra- 5600

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1675

The wolf demon thief licked his lips. "Monster Reborn revives Diabound Carnel." The grey snake demon appeared on the field. "Then I play my Monster Reborn to revive a monster of my own. Come out Dark Familiar." The demon appeared on the field next to his other one.

Esmin spat onto the ground. "Again with this over-used combo?"

Terra shook his head. "Actually…I'm sacrificing them to summon a brand new monster. A creature that I'm quite sure neither you Esmin, with your Japanese background, nor you Ahran, with the same, have ever heard of." The two demons disappeared. What stood in there place was a brown-skinned human in a baggy red coat with a huge mane of white hair. "King of Thieves-Bakura!" (/2000) Upon hearing his name, the Thief King started to smile sickly. "This powerful monster has quite a few abilities, but the first lets it take the attack points of the strongest monster on the field and then kill it." Bakura flicked his hand once and Esmin's Direco collapsed to the ground dead, with a knife sticking out of its throat. (3300/2000)

Esmin frowned as the attack of his Lord Poison plummeted. (2000/1000)

Terra discarded a card from his hand. "Special ability number two…will let me discard a card from my hand to destroy all set cards on the field. Nothing may be used in response to this effect." Bakura snapped his fingers and all of Esmin's set cards and monsters disappeared.

The fox demon's eyes widened. "What…kind of monster is this?"

"It is a creature based off a human I knew. He was a king of thieves…something that not many can declare and live through the repercussions." Terra's hand pointed at Truesdale. "Now attack." Bakura flicked his hand and a storm of knives slashed the fairy apart. "End turn."

Ahran drew. ("Now's my chance, he has no traps on his field!") "Ruby Rider special ability go! When it is on the field and I have my ruby-colored Crystal Dragon in the graveyard I may sacrifice it to summon out that monster!" The warrior exploded and the dragon's attack power shot upwards. (2750/2750)

"So your dragons are returning?" Terra snickered as the effects of Emerald Rider and Sapphire triggered. Both warriors exploded and the dragons attack points rose to join their brethren's. (2750/2750)

Ahran slapped a card down. "Go Crystal Kuriboh!" (300/200) A little glittering crystal version of a Kuriboh appeared on the field. "This monster cannot be attacked as long as I have other light monsters in play. The attack strength of all other light monsters I have will now be increased by 500 points!" (Crystal Dragon: 3250/2750) (Kaiser Glider: 2900/2200)

Terra pointed at Bakura. "You're just a few points short. Want to try again?"

Ahran held up another card. "Don't think me beaten just yet! Activate field magic card Crystal Coliseum!" All around them a crystal building rose up. "In this place all monsters with crystal or a gem name in their title gain 1000 attack points when they battle with a monster stronger than themselves! Crystal Burst!" His sapphire dragon opened its jaws and released a burst of crystal energy that hurtled towards Terra's monster.

"Foolish whelp," Terra discarded a card from his hand. "King of Thieves-Bakura special ability activate! When I discard one card from my hand I can not only negate your attack but destroy one monster on your field!" Bakura removed his coat and snapped it upwards, knocking the blast away. The ball of light arched in the air and dropped onto the head of the emerald Crystal Dragon, blowing it apart.

Ahran frowned and discarded a card from his hand. There was a flash of light and his Crystal Dragon reappeared. "Did you forget the power of my Radiance Ring trap card? By discarding a card from my hand I can stop any light monster from being destroyed. Crystal Burst!" The emerald Crystal Dragon snarled and spat its own attack towards Bakura.

Terra smirked. "You're really not that smart, or else you'd figure out that I knew that already." He discarded a card from his hand. "King of Thieves-Bakura special ability activates and sends the attack at your Kaiser Glider this time!" Bakura chuckled and snapped his coat in an arc, the heavy fabric smacking the attack towards the golden dragon and blowing it apart.

Terra- 5600

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1325

It was Ahran's turn to smile. "I won't be discarding a card to return Kaiser Glider, because I wanted you to destroy him. When he is destroyed one monster on the field is sent back to its owner's hand. So good-bye Bakura!"

"Wrong," Terra and Bakura both waved a finger in the air chidingly. "The special ability of Bakura is when he reflects an attack whatever is destroyed because of the reflection has its special ability stopped."

Ahran growled and slid a card into his disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."

Esmin drew. ("This mutt has the perfect card for my deck. With all of my trap monsters, I must set cards. And his creature's ability will destroy them without giving me a chance to activate them.") "Pot of Greed first." He drew two cards. "Then I set one card face-down on the field and one monster face-down. Finally, I switch my Lord Poison into defense mode. End turn."

Terra eyed both of his opponents, while Bakura just smiled knowingly. "Ready? Because my turn starts now!" He drew…

Everyone in the hospital had trouble figuring out where a certain noise was coming from. It was the sound of laughter, and it was so loud that everyone in the whole building could hear it.

"Well this isn't something you see everyday," Daniel commented dryly.

"SHUT UP JOURGEN! I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!" Rikuo screamed at the top of his lungs.

The dragon demon was too busy rolling on the floor and laughing to hear him.

Eri looked just as pissed as her father. "Stop laughing!"

Ashley and Sammy were both standing behind Daniel, fairly certain they would be safe if someone attacked anyone else.

Slowly, Ryu calmed down and slowly came to his feet. After brushing his shirt off he looked over at Rikuo and Eri. "You're both rather funny when you're angry. Of course, the sight of a midget Rikuo is much more entertaining."

Growling, the little wolf demon crossed his arms across his chest. "It…isn't…funny! Now fix it so I can kick your ass!"

Ryu closed his eyes and stroked his chin. "Sorry, but I can't."

Rikuo face-fell, which was rather entertaining to the dragon demon. "WHAT?"

"I can't change the punishment enforced upon you through the darkness. You'll just have to age normally." Ryu turned and looked at Daniel. "So…do you know that your wife has left over 500 messages on your answering machine?"

The half wolf-demon's face turned a pale blue. "E…excuse….me?"

"You heard me the first time." Running a hand through his black hair, the dragon demon smiled. "And the last few messages were pretty entertaining as well. Especially the one with the threat of coming down here to see you." He tapped his chin with a nail. "That one had something to do with a pair of scissors and your tail, I believe."

Daniel was out the door by the time the words scissors had left Ryu's mouth.

Rikuo blinked at the blurry afterimage of his other half as it faded. "………..so…..what I am supposed to do now?"

Ryu crouched down to look at his friend. "It's never too late to enroll in kindergarten, right?"

With impossible speed, the dragon demon was suddenly crushed into the ground because of an overhead hit from a table.

"Thank you princess," Rikuo said sagely.

"You're welcome father," Eri put the table back in place and sat down.

Terra drew and his lips curled into a calm smile. "I set one card face-down on the field and play Bandit's Freedom. This magic card lets me draw cards from my deck at the cost of 500 life points per card. So I'll draw six." He slid six cards off of his deck at once, not bothered in the least by the fact that his life points were rapidly decreasing.

Terra- 2600

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1325

Ahran and Esmin both felt sweat along their foreheads. As long as King of Thieves-Bakura was in play they both couldn't hope to get in a successful attack.

Terra motioned to his set card. "Activate face-down card. It's called Unearthing the Past, and at the cost of two hand cards I can pick up one card from my graveyard." The wolf demon slid two cards into his graveyard and removed one from the slot. "Monster Reborn will be enough for now. Then I discard a card from my hand to activate the effect of Bakura!" Esmin's monster and set card disappeared, along with Ahran's set card.

Ahran glanced around at the Crystal Coliseum and felt comforted by the fact that if Terra attacked him he would only succeed in killing his monster.

Esmin smirked because if Lord Poison was destroyed he could still special summon any plant monster in his graveyard to the field.

Terra raised his hand to point at Esmin's monster. "Bakura attack!" The thief flicked his wrist and the plant monster was skewered by a storm of knives.

Esmin removed a card from his graveyard. "You activated the effect of Lord Poison. When it is destroyed as a result of battle I may special summon out one plant monster of mine." He threw the card down. "So I call back Fairy King Truesdale in defense mode."

Terra and Bakura both shrugged it off. "End turn."

Ahran drew. ("I have to be careful, because one mistake in this duel will cost me my existence.") Closing his eyes and hoping for luck, he slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Esmin drew. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Terra drew. "So you both think I'll just sit idle and let you prepare yourselves for the coming storm? Not a chance in hell." He discarded a card. "Bakura's special ability will first destroy your set cards." The set magic/trap card of his two opponents's faded away. "Then I play the magic card Premature Burial. At the cost of 800 life points I can revive one monster from my graveyard, and that monster is Diabound Carnel!" The grey snake demon appeared next to the thief king.

Terra- 1800

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 1325

"Diabound Carnel's special ability equips him to your monster!" The demon turned into a black shadow that fell over the sapphire Crystal Dragon. (1450/2750) "Go Bakura!" Snickering, the Thief King flicked his wrist and a storm of knives slammed into the dragon.

Ahran slid a card from his hand into his graveyard, and then feel to his knees as pain spiked through him from the attack backlash.

Terra- 1800

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 975

Terra sighed. "You're just adamant about keeping those damned dragons alive. End turn."

Ahran, hands trembling, somehow found the strength to draw. ("I don't have the strength for this…") "I play…Pot of Greed." After drawing two cards his eyes started to waver. ("So drained…") Then he felt it. It was amplified in the roars of his dragons. ("My friends…I will not fall.") Coming to his feet, he slapped one of the two new cards down. "When Watapon (200/300) is drawn it is special summoned to the field immediately." A little white fluff-ball appeared on his field.

Terra shrugged. "So what? Bakura can kill it easily."

"It won't be around long enough for that to occur." Ahran held up a card from his hand. "It's time to unleash my ultimate monster. Activate Polymerization!" The three Crystal Dragons were pulled into each other. And the creature that emerged was a towering diamond-covered dragon. "Ultimate Diamond Dragon!" (3500/3500) Roaring, the dragon shook the ground all around them. "This monster possesses the power to attack all monsters on my opponents field at once, and it can deal damage through defense as well."

Terra quietly waited for the attack. ("Come then, fool. I'll reflect your attack and blow your dragon apart.")

Ahran held up another card. "I activate the magic card Seal of Light. This card will trap one monster on my field within an alternate dimension until one of my monsters is destroyed. At that time, the returned monster will have its attack power raised by 1000 points." His Ultimate Diamond Dragon disappeared and was replaced by a glowing symbol of light that hovered in the air.

Esmin was confused now. ("Why summon out a strong monster and then seal it away…unless…")

Ahran held up the last card in his hand. "I sacrifice both Watapon and Crystal Kuriboh to summon out Destruction Dragon Gondola!" (?) A towering dragon appeared on his field and roared loudly, shaking the air with the scream. All over the dragon's body was a huge number of red crystals. "This monster requires half of my life points to use its special ability, which triggers during my battle phase. Gondola will remove all monsters on your field from the game and then destroy itself. Go Destruction Scream!" Gondola's jewels released a wave of red energy that ripped across the field.

Terra- 1800

Esmin- 5500

Ahran- 482

Terra slid a card into his graveyard. "What do you think I am? I'm not worried about your stupid little trick." Bakura snapped up his coat and knocked the blast away, somehow sending the whole wave back at its user. Gondola roared and was blown apart from both inside and outside.

Ichigo motioned to his Seal of Light, which exploded and released his charged up Ultimate Diamond Dragon. (4500/3500) "I didn't intend to destroy your monster that way. But now my creature is more than strong enough to handle your monster. End turn."

Esmin frowned and drew. ("Luckily, Truesdale survived the attack as well.") He slid a card into his disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn." ("As long as I don't do anything stupid, he'll focus on the boy for now.")

Terra drew. "You're getting on my nerves, whelp. So I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

Ahran drew. ("Bakura is too powerful…I need a method to defeat it.") He slid the drawn card into his disk. "Go Swords of Revealing Light! This magic card will prevent you from attacking me for three turns!" Glowing green swords of light fell down onto the field. "End turn."

Esmin drew. "End turn."

Terra snapped the top card off of his deck. "This means nothing to me. Fools, I'll crush you both with the methods you tried to use against me!" He slammed a card into his disk. "Here we go Bakura! Snatch Steal lets me take control of one monster on my opponent's field and force it to obey me!" The Ultimate Diamond Dragon roared and floated over to join its new master. "Also, I play Monster Reborn on Destruction Dragon Gondola!" A shattering roar shook the air as the Destruction Dragon reappeared. "Now for my battle phase! Ultimate Diamond Dragon, attack Esmin's monster now!" The dragon opened its jaws and released a reality-breaking wave of power that hurtled towards the fox demon's Fairy King.

Esmin threw up his arms as his monster was immediately erased from existence by the sheer force of the blast.

Terra- 1800

Esmin- 2400

Ahran- 482

Terra pointed at Gondola. "Destruction Scream!" The dragon roared and shuddered as it released its attack the second time in this duel, blowing itself apart and removing all other monster in the game from play.

Terra- 900

Esmin- 2400

Ahran- 482

Or so was planned. However, Terra was ready for the downside of Gondola's effect. "Also, I reveal my trap card, which is called Thief's Masterful Escape. This will negate one card effect from touching any monsters on my field with Thief in their title." Bakura brushed off his coat and then looked over at Esmin with a cold smile on his face.

Ahran felt his heart break at the sight of his best monster not only being taken control of, but killed by another of his best dragons. Slowly, the wolf demon fell to his knees and stared into space, his confidence and will to fight shattered.

Terra pointed at Esmin. "Farewell! Bakura attacks your life points directly!" The thief king flicked his wrist and a storm of knives launched across the field towards Esmin.

"I'm not out yet!" Esmin discarded a card from his hand. "Go Life-Stealing Spores! This card allows me to gain life points equal to half of the attack of all of your attacking monsters this turn!" The knives flew through him, but he still stood alive.

Terra- 900

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 482

Terra sighed and slid a card into his disk. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." Sliding two cards off of his deck, he smirked and slid one card into his disk. "First I play Mirage of Nightmare. This continuous magic card lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand during your standby phase. Then during my following standby phase I discard that same number of cards." He slid a card into his disk next to it. "I also set one card face-down and end my turn."

Esmin frowned and drew. "Now I…"

"Not so fast!" Terra drew four cards and motioned to his face-down card. "Activate the trap card Painful Trade! This trap card transfers one card on my field to my opponent's field and lets me draw one card in return for it." He drew and the Mirage of Nightmare shimmered into Esmin's disk. "Also, since four cards have been drawn through the effect of Mirage of Nightmare, then since it is the owning player's standby phase he must discard that same number at random."

Esmin gasped as four of the cards in his hand faded away like smoke on the wind. He looked at the single remaining card and clenched his fist. "I summon Flower Sprite (200/300) in defense mode." A little fairy in a flower dress appeared on his field. "End turn."

Ahran's eyes were closed and he was trembling. ("Why am I afraid? It is because I lost it. Even my best can't touch one of this demon's power.") He felt the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Despite whatever bravado he tried putting on, he didn't want to die. Death was something he truly feared, and to lose his second chance at life…

A single roar broke him back to reality. It was a sound he knew all too well. ("Ultimate Diamond Dragon?") Slowly he looked up into the darkness…and felt a prescense. ("You believe I can do it?")

"What are you staring at whelp? Hurry up and finish your turn so I can banish you into the darkness realm!" Terra was not in the mood to play around. He wanted to end this so that no one would become worried about where Griff was.

Ahran came to his feet, little drops of wetness at the corners of his eyes. "I'm not done yet!" He drew.

Esmin and Terra both felt a pulse of energy far stronger than anything they had thought possible from a boy that age.

The emerald-eyed demon held the drawn card up into the air. "Go Card of Sanctity!" All of them drew until they had six cards in their hand.

Ahran looked at the cards and then held one up into the air. "I remove three light monsters from my graveyard." Holding up three of his cards, he watched them all dissipate into the wind. "Now to defeat Bakura!"

"You won't be defeating anyone. No matter what you summon, my monster can evade it." To prove his point, Terra fanned out his six card hand. "I can evade and reflect back six attacks total. That means you can't hope to win."

"I beg to differ. To accomplish this, then I must simply attack you seven times." Ahran slapped the card down and the darkness around them was blown away in one blinding flash. "First, I negate the darkness game!"

"Negate the darkness game?" Terra couldn't believe that they were suddenly standing in the light of day again. "How?"

"With the help of this!" A glowing sphere of white-yellow light lowered down onto his field. "Come out now, Moonstone Angel Dragon!" (2300/1000) The sphere exploded and revealed a dragon that could only be described as some kind of angel. It had feathered wings and was surrounded by a holy golden glow.

Terra clapped his hands. "Very cute, but that's all it is to me."

"It'll be a lot more in but a moment!" Ahran raised his hand to the sky. "Moonstone Angel Dragon special ability go!" Three balls of emerald, ruby and sapphire colored light landed on his field in the air around his dragon. "Awaken, my three Crystal Dragons!" Each of the three dragons roared together, the sound joined by the melodious voice of the Moonstone Angel Dragon. "When I remove three light monsters from my graveyard to summon out my monster, the removed monsters are special summoned along with it!"

Terra flicked the six cards he was holding. "Ahem, need I explain?"

"No." Ahran slid a card into his disk. "Emergency Provisions lets me sacrifice Swords of Revealing Light and my fountain to gain 2000 life points!" The swords and fountain shattered.

Terra- 900

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 2482

Terra narrowed his eyes.

Ahran held up his remaining four cards. "Monster Returned go! This magic card lets me return one removed from play monster to the field!" Above the three smaller dragons and the huge Moonstone Angel Dragon a prismatic ball of light appeared. "Ultimate Diamond Dragon returns!" The ball blew apart and revealed his best monster, which roared along with its brethren.

"Crystal Dragons all over the place." Terra smirked. "But Bakura will wipe them all out in time."

Ahran held out his remaining three cards. "Bakura is dead." He slid all of the three cards into his disk and pointed at the King of Thieves. "Crystal Burst!" The sapphire-colored Crystal Dragon released a wave of energy that hurtled towards Bakura.

"Idiot!" Terra discarded a card. "Bakura's special ability activates!" The brown-skinned Egyptian smirked and removed his coat, snapping it through the air and knocking the attack back towards the emerald-colored Crystal Dragon.

Ahran motioned to his first played card. "This magic card is called Spirit of the Knight! As long as it is in play all monsters on my field cannot be defeated by attacks with strength equal to their own!" Roaring, the emerald Crystal Dragon took the blast to the face and shrugged it off.

Ahran drew a card and pointed at his next played card. "Treasure of Grief is a permanent magic card that lets me draw one card every time the attack of one of my monsters fails!"

"So what, you can't use that card against me." Terra knew he was safe.

"Wrong!" Ahran motioned to his last card. "Leading the Charge lets me play one magic card from my hand every time one of my monsters attacks!"

"What makes you believe you'll be getting magic cards?" Terra shouted over the roars of the dragons.

Ahran slid the new card into his disk. "Go Crystal Burst!" The emerald dragon charged up a ball of the same-colored energy and sprayed it towards Bakura.

Terra discarded another card. "Swing and a miss!" The Thief King snapped his coat in an arc and knocked the blast towards the Moonstone Angel Dragon.

Ahran pointed at his new card. "Immunity of Diamonds makes my monster immune to battle damage for this turn!" The blast slammed into the dragon and then struck Ahran in the chest.

Terra- 900

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 1782

The emerald-eyed dragon then drew a card. "Treasure of Grief lets me draw one card! Then I play this magic card and order my monster to attack! Crystal Burst!" The ruby-colored Crystal Dragon released a wave of energy that hurtled towards Bakura.

Terra discarded another card and the Thief King easily knocked the attack back towards the Moonstone Angel Dragon. "You're not going to win!"

Ahran took the backlash of energy to his chest, knowing that his monster was safe. Then he drew a card and slid it into his disk. "The magic card I activated before was Dragon's Sacrifice. It allows me to sacrifice dragons to draw cards!" His three used Crystal Dragons blew apart and he drew three cards. "Then I order Moonstone Angel Dragon to attack! Lunar Burst!" The dragon opened its jaws and released a glittering wave of light.

Terra discarded again. "You're not going to win by sacrificing your monsters repeatedly!" Bakura snapped up his coat and knocked the ball towards the Ultimate Diamond Dragon, which it took to the chest without much problem.

Terra- 700

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 1082

Ahran drew again. "Before my dragon's attack I played the magic card Quick Attack! So now my Moonstone Angel Dragon attacks again!" The dragon opened its jaws once more and fired.

And again the attack was knocked back into the Ultimate Diamond Dragon.

Terra- 500

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 1082

Ahran drew again, now holding four cards in his hand. "When you reflected this attack I played the magic card Rapid Spell Battle. This magic card allows us both to play magic cards as much as we want to during the battle phase of this turn!" He slid a card into his disk. "So then I play Crystal Genocide Burst! This magic card will only work if I have one of my Crystal Dragons or Ultimate Diamond Dragon in play! It will destroy all monsters on your field!"

Terra slid a card into his disk. "Wrong! Go Neiki Ouiju!" A huge stone tablet appeared in the air and sucked up the Ultimate Diamond Dragon. "Now your monster will be unable to be used for anything. Also, my life points and monster no longer must worry during this turn!"

Ahran closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "Magic card activate now!" A glowing barrier appeared around Bakura. "Glittering Barrier will reflect one attack against the equipped monster back to the enemy's field! Also, I play Enraged Charge! This card forces one of my monsters to attack, and it also gains 1000 attack points! Go Lunar Burst!" The dragon opened its jaws and sprayed one more time. "However, my monster will be destroyed immediately after the fight." The energy blast reflected off the barrier around Bakura and slammed into the stone tablet, blowing it apart.

Terra- 500

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 82

Terra was actually panting from the sheer intensity. "You…don't think that will be enough, do you? You no longer have any monsters on the field, and Bakura is safe."

Ahran snapped up a card from his deck. "For the effect of Treasure of Grief I draw one card." He drew and smirked. "Monster Reborn activate!"

The wolf demon thief gasped in surprise. "No!"

There was a flash of light as the Ultimate Diamond Dragon returned to the field. "It's finished! Crystal Genocide Explosion!" The dragon released a wave of energy that washed over Terra's field and destroyed Bakura instantly.

Terra- 300

Esmin- 750

Ahran- 82

Though he was surprised, Terra was more pissed than anything else. "You bastard…I'll destroy you in the next turn!"

"There is no next turn!" Ahran snapped his last card around. "De-Fusion activates and separates Ultimate Diamond Dragon back into my three Crystal Dragons!" The huge beast shimmered and broke down into its original three pieces. "Triple Crystal Burst!" All three of the dragons opened fire one after another. The first slammed into Terra and blew him off his feet. The second and third blasts blew away Esmin's monster and then Esmin himself. "And I win."

Terra- 0

Esmin- 0

Ahran- 82

Slowly, Ahran smiled and wiped the remains of moisture from his eyes. "I have won. And no one will lose their soul now."

Terra leapt to his feet and growled in anger. "I will get you, little whelp!"

Esmin hopped up onto casually and poked a spot on the back of Terra's neck. "Shut up."

The wolf demon thief was already asleep before he could even finish the thoughts of attacking.

Smirking, Esmin brushed back his hair and smiled slightly. "I'm glad that at least you won instead of that ass." He kicked Terra in the side. "So, can I kill him?"

"Please don't," Ahran sighed, "There needs to be no more death this day."

The fox demon shrugged casually and walked off. "Suit yourself."

Ahran felt a prescense in his mind stir. ("Ichigo, are you awake?")

A yawn was his response. ("So…did you enjoy having our body all to yourself for a little while?)

Ahran tilted slightly to the side and then face-fell.

To be continued…

To Seeker of the Soul: Indeed. Let us all bow to the plant master.

To G.O.T. Nick: I'm playing off the errata on that ability, which says that Truesdale has to be in defense mode for its effect to work.

To Rex: I always try to.

To Sinister: They're both thieves...and in general range of each other. Egos are bound to spark.

To Gryphonwyrm7: Rikuo sent Ichigo/Ahran...ah screw it, let's just say they're all there because it was interesting.