Author's Notes: Plot goodness ahead!

Chapter Eight: Like Pieces Of A Puzzle

"Here is the final card of my combo! Tri-Thunder Blaze!" The three warriors unsheathed their blades, and raised them up. The points of the blades touched above their heads, and electricity began to crackle at the meeting place of the sword tips.

"Tri-Thunder Blaze can only be played when I have all three Gilford the Lightnings in play. It then allows me to deal the opponent four thousands points of damage at a cost of their attack this turn. Its time to share again. I'll distribute that damage amongst both of you." Mataro and Ramesh dropped to their knees as the three lightning wielders leveled their swords at them.

"It's over. Tri-Thunder Blaze!" A stream of white lightning erupted from the ends of those three swords, and it splashed over the two duelist's fields. She could hear them scream as it swept through them, burning away the spirits that possessed them. (RLP: 0, MLP: 0)

"I hate Darkness Games." The shadows faded from around them, as did her monsters. Everyone who had been waiting on the outside was shocked to see the three Obelisk Blue boys passed out on the ground, and the girl that appeared to be from Osiris Red still standing.

Kirani limped away from the field, and settled her gaze on the dark haired Kodowari. He was the only one in the entire group who didn't appear shocked. He had a calm and knowing look on his face, one that was slightly amused. She had seen that look many times on Taichi Nobuki's face, and it was bound to mean trouble from his son, even in a different dimension.

She blinked as she felt her weight suddenly supported, and realized that Drake had just wrapped an arm around her, lending her support. "Sometimes its nice not to have to be tough, right?"

The two shared a brief smile, and then turned their attention back to Kodowari. The group pulled him away from the rest of his friends, far enough away so that nobody could overhear. They circled around him like vultures watching a future meal about to die. Then they struck. "We need to talk."

"Of course we do. I bet you want to know about the RPG group I'm in, don't you? After all, she was asking questions about it around here earlier today." The gang shared a brief look of surprise, but then returned to the matter at hand.

Kai stepped up and looked down at the boy, his eyes hard but displaying a degree of kindness. "The people in the hospital wing are friends of yours. We need to know whether your did it, or at the very least who the other members of the RPG group are."

Kodowari smiled knowingly, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I said I knew that you guys needed to and wanted to talk to me. I never said I'd cooperate. After all, what's in it for me?"

Being the irritable wolf-demon that he is Rikuo snarled and reached out with his claws to grab the boy by the shirt. But he stopped short when another hand clenched around the boy's throat and lifted him into the air. Rikuo turned an approving glance upon Dalin, who was holding Kodowari at eye level. "You saw that orb of darkness form and you weren't shocked. That means you know what a Darkness Game is, correct?"

Kodowari gulped, and slowly nodded his head, all traces of his confident smile gone. "Then I assume you realize that all of us standing around you are no ordinary duelists, and should we challenge you to a Darkness Game, you would lose."

Once again the boy gulped, nodding his head slightly, not even daring to speak. "Then to avoid such a fate, simply tell us what we need to know. Believe me when I say that feeding you to our demonic friend would be more pleasant than the Punishment Game I would inflict upon you."

Rikuo leaned in towards the other three duelists, and whispered to them confidentially. "Is he always this scary, or is it something new?"

They shrugged, and then sighed a bit. "He's always this scary. He'd make a good member of your family actually. Dangerous as anything you could imagine." Rikuo grinned smugly, and folded his arms across his chest. Dangerous huh? Yeah, he liked that adjective.

Dalin dropped the teen, and after a brief scramble for footing the young duelist was back up and looked ready to talk. "I get it already. I'm not going to let myself get challenged to a Darkness Game by one of the top ranked duelists of Underworld of Dueling."

Dalin didn't respond in any way to this comment, but the others looked confused. Rikuo narrowed his eyes and looked over the four duelists, not noticing their brief looks of confusion. 'Underworld of Dueling huh? That would explain how a bunch of duelists of such skill came out of nowhere without me ever hearing about them. That must be where Dalin brought Drake back to, wherever those duels take place.'

"Outside of the few people you've seen in the hospital wing, there are four other members. Not all of us are Osiris Red after all. I'm the last member of the group in Osiris Red. There are three in Ra Yellow and one in Obelisk Blue." Kodowari briefly massaged his throat, glaring at Dalin out of the corner of his eye.

About a dozen feet away Kodowari's fellow Osiris Red students were watching them curiously, wondering exactly what was going on. It seemed weird that these people had come out of nowhere to talk to Kodowari, but they knew him to have been involved in some unusual activity. "And who might they be?"

"Well, those four don't show up as often as the others, because they don't like to be seen associating with Osiris Red students. The Obelisk Blue guy in particular rarely comes, but when he does he comes out in the lead of whatever game we play. It's like he does it just as a test of skill." Kodowari paused for a moment, noticing the several glares he was getting. They wanted names, not explanations.

"Okay, I really can't tell you that guy's name because I don't know it. All I know is that he's a high ranked member of the dorm, and quickly rising. The top of the three Ra Yellows on the other hand is the highest ranked in his dorm, and likely to move to Obelisk Blue soon. His name is Masue Hitachi." The group absorbed this information, filing it away for later.

"Next down the line is a girl named Alice Terry. She's a pretty girl, and a major game lover. She'll play anything related to games, and she's brilliant at them. In fact, she's here more to become a game designer than a duelist. But believe me, she's good. She's in her final year here, and she'd be Obelisk Blue if she didn't spend half her time daydreaming and thinking up new games." Once more the information was taken in, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Final of the three Ra Yellows is this weird guy by the name of Vance Yeomen. Every character he makes in our RPGs are off-color, and he goes for the rarely used classes. I don't know what the hell deck theme he runs, but I hear it's just as weird as he is." Dalin nodded, and then stepped aside, allowing Kirani to approach, using Drake as a support.

"We've got another question for you. Or rather I do. Your dad, Taichi Nobuki, he taught you about Darkness Games, didn't he?" Kodowari grimaced, but after a stern look from Dalin and a wolfish glare from Rikuo he nodded.

"When dad was fifteen he...I don't know, he went a bit out of his mind. They locked him up in a corrective institute for five years before deeming him fit to return to society. He immediately jumped into the dueling circuit and became a top ranked duelist. My mom and I always heard his stories about what happened to him, and just two years ago he took me aside..."

He took a deep breath, something obviously troubling him. Finally he managed to continue. "Well, he explained to me in great detail about his so-called 'possession'. For the longest time I had thought it was all crazy talk, but then he unfolded everything around us into that kind of dome. It was what he called a Darkness Game, and he taught me all about them."

Drake snapped his hand out and grabbed Kodowari by the shirt, pulling him in close. "Tell us about this possession. I want to know exactly what your dad said about it. I want to know about the dark spirit that possessed him."

"Geez man! I was already talking, now lay off!" Kirani lay a placating hand over Drake's hand, and slowly the punk duelist released his grip on the young teen. Kodowari smoothed his uniform jacket out, and continued his story.

"Dad said the dark spirit that possessed him was a incredibly ancient, and that it had been moving from place to place for thousands of years. Said that it's origins weren't 'of this plane of existence', whatever the hell that means. Also said it was searching for a way to return to its own plane." Drake narrowed his eyes, recognizing similarities to the dark spirit they knew, but also recognizing the differences.

"This spirit was pretty obsessed about getting back to its own home, and from what dad told me, it had been locked out millennia ago by something from that plane. It was willing to do whatever was needed to get there, and it wanted my dad to do the job for him. When it learned that my dad didn't have the resources and couldn't be used to get them, it abandoned him and went in search of another host. That's all I know about it." Drake nodded, and turned away, walking in the opposite direction and taking Kirani with him.

Suddenly Kodowari spoke up again. "I remembered something else. The last thing that the spirit told my dad. It said: 'I know the method, and under twenty years I will destroy this world to open the Dimension Gate. Then I will return home at last.'

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Daniel had managed to keep calm so far, and he had written a note to both Jennie and Ichigo, telling them that Rikuo desperately needed his help so he had to leave. It was a part truth, but the biggest factor was that he didn't want his family being afraid for him because his demon blood was somehow gone.

He was certain that a Darkness Game had never been put into affect. That meant it was an entirely different form of magic that the Dalin guy had used to strip him of his demonic side. Since it was unknown magic to him, he could think of only one person who might know what it was.

It felt rather weird not to be able to run at great speeds, or to see or smell the things he normally could. Of course he had spent the first half of his life without his demon blood awakened, having only the normal abilities of a human. Now that he was without his demonic powers again he felt weak, almost helpless.

Daniel gripped the wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. 'Ryu, I hope you have answers for me. Otherwise I don't know what I'll do.'

The dragon demon had agreed to meet him near the docks, and had said to 'wait for the helicopter.' Daniel knew that Ryu was rich, but a helicopter seemed rather impractical. It also seemed like a very Kaiba-ish way to do

A quick turn onto a side road put him less than a mile from the docks, and he had about ten minutes to wait before Ryu said he would be there. The whole problem here wasn't that not having demon powers was a bad thing, but rather that he was accustomed to them, and he might need them in the future. It was like losing part of himself.

He parked the car and leaned back into the seat, heaving a sigh as he sat back to wait for Ryu. The next thing he heard was the sound of a helicopter, leading him to believe that either he had drifted off for a moment or that Ryu was early. It didn't matter which one it was.

With a quick shove he had the door opened and was out of the car. The wind blew his hair around wildly, but he stood stoically waiting for the copter to finish its descent. In under a minute it did, the blades slowing until they came to a stop. Finally a tall golden haired man in a business suit exited the helicopter.

Ryu Zaytel, formerly known as Jourgen Politumas, one of the demon lords and a mighty warrior from an ancient past. He also had seemingly an endless bag of tricks up his sleeves, and never stayed dead. He was perhaps the only person Daniel had ever met who could manage to stay alive better than a villain. For proof, he was alive whereas most villains they had encountered were not.

"I almost didn't believe it when you told me, yet here you are, without your demonic blood. There is no scent of your blood about you, nor do you have a demonic aura any longer. There is a trace of something unusual though..." Ryu paused, scrutinizing the former half-demon. Daniel bore the inspection patiently, knowing that it was for his benefit.

"It wasn't done by a Darkness Game. Other than that, I really don't have any knowledge about what did it. So whatever you could tell me would be great. Preferably a way to fix this." Daniel folded his arms, tapping his foot from a combination of nervousness and impatience. He just desperately wanted this problem fixed. Preferably without his wife finding out.

Ryu narrowed his eyes and then to Daniel's surprise the dragon demon jerked back with an audible hiss. "Impossible! Those arts have long been lost, no texts have existed for several thousand years."

"See, that sort of cryptic stuff doesn't help my position. Any explanation you could provide would be great." The other duelist nodded, and settled into a comfortable position leaning against the car. It would take a little bit of doing to explain this.

"At one point or another there have been threats so great that demons and humans had to work together, despite natural animosity. It is believed that this specific form of cooperation came around the time of Valeus' reign of terror. It was a method of taking demonic power and infusing it in humans, or granting demons the ability to use human magic. But it came with a price, and the records of how the procedure was done was wiped out before I was even born." Daniel nodded, beginning to get the picture.

"Whatever the power is, it has a specific trace that can be seen in any of those who have been affected by it. I have seen those, and so I recognize the trace aura. There is a problem I see though. This procedure would require a demon and a human to perform the first time. That implies this fellow you dueled has demonic aid. It also implies that since no demon was present and no ritual was performed, that he has done this a number of times before." A frown settled on the demon's face, and it didn't leave as he continued.

"The fact that he so easily stripped you of your blood after defeating you in a duel speaks of enormous power. Whether it is from him or from another source I can't tell without actually seeing this person and examining their aura. Unfortunately I can't help you yet, except for give you one piece of advice. The only way to find any method to reverse it is to go straight to the source and confront this man. That means going to the Underworld of Dueling."

"The Underworld of Dueling...somehow I've got a bad feeling about this. But...I'd be grateful if you would accompany me. I get the feeling I'm going to need some help." Ryu smiled slightly, and extended his hand. It looked like they had a new mission, and a new problem.

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"The Underworld of Dueling...why didn't you guys just tell me that was where you did your dueling? So this shape snatcher guy, he's got something to do with the Underworld, yeah?" Rikuo flipped a chair around and sat down, crossing his arms over the back and leaning forwards to watch and wait.

They gave him strange looks, and finally Kai gave him a response. "I don't think any of us have ever heard of this Underworld. It's most likely that Kodowari simply believed us to be part of this group because of how powerful Kirani was in her duel."

"Bullshit. I've heard all sorts of weird shit about the Underworld of Dueling, how the duelists weren't normal people. You guys definitely qualify in that category. I mean, Drake looks almost exactly like he did nearly two decades ago. So I want answers." The group shot each other uncertain looks, like they were debating telling him something.

"There is a presence. Someone with demonic power has been following us for some time." Dalin spoke up so suddenly that everyone was surprised, but once he had finished speaking the resident nose was on the job.

Rikuo took a deep whiff, and then snarled, realizing what it was. "Damn it...I told her not to follow! And we were just discussing the members of that RPG group. One of them is bound to be this guy you're searching for, and I won't let her fall victim!"

Drake grimaced as he realized what Rikuo was talking about. "Eri was listening in? That's not good, we've got to get out there and find those Ra Yellow duelists and that Obelisk blue guy before she does. Otherwise there's no telling what could happen."

Without another word the five duelists sprinted out of the room, trying to follow the trail left by Eri as she left in a great rush. Rikuo knew how stubborn his daughter was, she took after him and Jasmine, which made her doubly as stubborn. Unless they found her fast, she would challenge one of those duelists to a Darkness Game.

Although Rikuo had great confidence in his daughter, he also knew that any opponent who could get duelists of these five's caliber up in arms would be too great of a challenge for his princess. He wasn't going to let her soul get taken because she was as stubborn and arrogant as he was. "I won't let your soul get taken. I'm coming princess!"

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The sound of footfalls against metal were the only things that could be heard. Each footfall echoed throughout the vast series of metal corridors before finally fading away at a great distance. The corridors were quite literally a maze, where under normal circumstances obstacles would be active. At the moment they were inactive, because the games weren't going.

The footfalls paused for a moment, and after a pause a whooshing sound could be heard. An electronic door had just opened, allowing entrance into a vast circular room, where a giant object filled the center of the room.

It towered far above a normal person at roughly twenty-five feet in height, and was an equal distance in every direction. It was in the shape of a pentagon, only it was three dimensional. Each bar of the device was covered in strange runes, all of which moved fluidly, never staying in one spot for more than a brief moment.

Anyone who looked closer would see that the device was not formed of metal, but rather something unusual and strange. A person capable of seeing auras would be able to see it giving off a blazing light, both dark and light. Each piece of the device was forged of energy, and people surrounded it on all sides, chanting.

The person who had entered the room stepped past a pair of burly guards, barely noticing them. He was equally as large as they were, and he had power they couldn't possibly hope to match. Yet to any normal person they were beyond reach.

He walked forward with great purpose, and came to a full stop right in front of the device. Slowly he reached out with one hand and pressed the palm of his right hand against it, and something happened. Tendrils of light began flowing through his veins, and when they reached his palm the device lit up underneath it.

It took roughly thirty seconds before the light stopped flowing through his veins, and he stepped away, taking a quick look at the device once more. It was barely perceivable, but it was there. The device was now slightly bigger.

"Power to feed it. You have done well, this one's power was great, particularly for a half-demon. Yet still more is needed." The voice came from all around the room, and everyone but the chanters stopped what they were doing.

"Mass action cannot be taken, discovery must be avoided. One of you will now search out different magic to compliment the recent addition of demonic power. Which of you will undertake this great task?" There was a slight pause before one person spoke up, his dark eyes staring straight at the device as he spoke.

"I have the perfect target in mind. I will take his power and add it to the process of growth." The man smirked and raised his arm, revealing one of the newer models of duel disks. Power seemed to radiate off him, just as confidence did.

"Davis Coffin's power will be used to feed the process. And I will get a duel I've desired for quite some time. All I need is passage to Spain, and nothing more." There was a brief pause, and a man came forward, holding out a package of documents. Within it was a passport and all the necessary items required for international travel.

"Go forth. We shall await your return."

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Back at Duelist Academy one lone figure could be seen perched up on the top of the medical wing, his cold eyes staring down at five swiftly departing figures. They were chasing after the scent of Eri Amero, a trail that would lead them into danger.

The figure fiddled with an object in his hands, which was revealed to be a blue jacket, part of an Obelisk Blue girl's uniform. This particular uniform top was a spare that belonged to Erika Amero.

For about the third time that day he felt like laughing. It was always too easy to get things done. He would have what he wanted in the end, and that was what mattered. His ice blue eyes lit up with merriment as they headed in exactly the wrong direction.

Kodowari Nobuki smirked and tossed the uniform jacket over his shoulder, then stood up to his full height, staring down at the backs of the retreating duelists. "There always has to be bait for a trap to be sprung."

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Next Chapter: The Beginnings of Trouble

Author's Notes: Really, not much to say is there? PLOTAGE!

Review Responses

G.O.T. Nick: As you can see it DID have to do with the Dark Spirit.

Time Mage: All these questions and more to be answered. Also, there is no light counterpart to Banafor. Not all the Dark Angels have counterparts.

John: Yes, wow.

WolfGeneral: As you can see, not much except for plotage.

Original Cards:

NONE