Here's the chapter I promised. It also turns out to be 11:38, when I should have been in bed at 11:00. I still need to finish eight algebra assignments before 8:00 in the morning tomorrow. Wish me luck! Don't worry about tomorrow's chapter, due to a lack of homework I should get it up.

John: Kuribo dodges and continues to chase Demon Rue. Realize that swords won't cut down the cute furball.

Captain Obvious: Exactly.

Epyon: I had to laugh out loud at that. Thanks for the review.

Chapter 3: Trial of Bloodlust: Rue

Rue waited for a few moments, and was then able to see. He glanced around the room cautiously.

It appeared to be a study of some sort. He noticed a couple of bookcases with several leather-bound books on them. A large, polished, wooden desk was against the wall in the windowless room. A few neat stacks of papers were on it, as was a small, gold lamp that was currently on, with a chain coming from the rectangular light to be used as a method to turn it on. The carpet was a royal purple, and the elegant chair at the beautiful desk had matching purple fabric with gold trimming.

"Nice place," Rue commented, looking around. "It's weird though. I feel like I recognize this room…"

Confused over the sense of familiarity, Rue glanced towards the back of the room. He noticed a long shelf there, suspended on the wall with several small items on it. The shadows made it impossible for him to see what the objects on the shelf were though.

"Might as well," Rue shrugged. He walked over to the shelf, his head level with the shelf. When he got in front of it, he took a closer look at the item on the far left.

"What the hell!" Rue exclaimed, jumping back as his heart pounded wildly. After a few moments, he forced himself to approach the shelf again.

He carefully lifted the object, examining it while keeping it a safe distance away from himself. It was a doll that looked exactly like him. It also seemed disturbingly life-like. The dark brown eyes in the doll captivated Rue for a long moment before he broke free of the trance with a shudder.

"It's a doll? But it's me… what is this supposed to mean?" Rue wondered. When he received no answer, he lifted the doll to put it back on the shelf. Rue set it down quickly, causing the doll to have its back hit the wall harder than he meant.

Instantly, Rue was forced to bite back a yell of pain as his back flared in agony. After a moment, it subsided, leaving a dull ache.

Rue looked at the doll suspiciously, and then lifted its right hand. He pinched it and winced as he felt a sharp pain in his right hand.

"Is it… a voodoo doll?" Rue said in disbelief. Even more uneasy with the doll, he looked at the object next to it.

Again, Rue was shocked. It was another doll, but it looked identical to Ruecian. The next one was Claire, and then Perseus. He continued down the line, and stopped at the end, trembling. There was a doll of every person from the group, even one of Amy. The only ones who were missing from the collection were Sarius and his companions.

"Are these all voodoo dolls?" Rue walked back to the side with his doll on it. "Well, I certainly can't test them… so…"

As he looked at his doll and Ruecian's, he was surprised to notice a doll he had originally overlooked. He reached back and picked it up gingerly, bringing it a bit closer.

This time, he couldn't keep back his yelp of surprise. He dropped the doll, causing it to hit the carpet with a thud. As it landed, he heard a mental snarl.

"Watch it, you moron! That hurt!" Demon Rue hissed.

Rue blinked as the sudden fury that he had felt from his alter ego faded slightly. "Demon Rue?"

"Obviously. I thought the experience you had with your doll would have taught you not to toss the things around!" Demon Rue growled.

Rue bent down and gently lifted the doll that was an exact replica of Demon Rue. "Sorry. I was caught off guard by this one."

"Why did it surprise you?" Demon Rue asked. "Did you think that I would not be part of this game?"

"Game?" Rue said. "What do you mean by that?"

"You have not realized it yet? Ah, right, I forgot who I was talking to." After a pause, he continued. "We are all players in the hands of higher beings. They use us as pawns to play their elaborated game. It is beyond sickening. We were created just for the pleasure of a few who were made higher up than us."

Rue glanced at the doll of Demon Rue doubtfully before he put it back up on the shelf carefully. Despite his misgivings, he could still feel an emotion from Demon Rue that surprised him: hopelessness. "If that's all we're here for, what is the point in existing?"

"If you ever figure that out, let me know. My view on it is that possibly, as the generations pass, there may be a group to break everyone free of this curse. It seems doubtful, but what other options are there?" Demon Rue said.

"Why can't we be the ones to do it?" Rue demanded, looking rather disturbed by what he had been told.

"You and your friends? Out of all of humanity, your group has some of the most important people to the higher beings!" Demon Rue stated.

"How do you know all of this?" Rue asked.

This time, Rue was answered with a wave of frustration. "I still cannot remember anything. It is possible Satan himself blocked off my memories."

"Satan? So you were with him!" Rue accused.

"It is a good possibility," Demon Rue agreed. "There is no need for alarm from that, however. I do not share any kind of alliance with him any more, even if I used to have one."

Rue considered that for a long moment, but finally decided that Demon Rue's statement was sincere… for now, anyway. "So at this very moment, Satan is using us?"

"Correct. God also has his own uses for some, but he only does so to balance Satan's attempts. If Satan were to stop, God would too, or so I believe." Rue felt something that seemed like a mental shrug come from Demon Rue. "Either way, you are in Satan's hands at the moment, as is everyone else. If you do not wish to remain there, I suggest fighting back soon."

"Hope beat him before; we can do it again!" Rue said.

"Now that you know who you are facing, perhaps… but for now, you need to focus on completing this trial," Demon Rue stated.

"Yeah…" Rue gave his doll a final glance. Then he froze, seeing a small gold plaque lying next to the doll. He slowly lifted it, reading two words on it.

"Doll Master… what is that supposed to mean?" Rue inquired.

"Your eyes are unclouded. You know who your enemy is now," Demon Rue said simply.

"All right then, if you say so," Rue replied, putting the plaque next to his doll again. "Let's keep me aware of it, shall we?" Then he went over to the study door, putting his hand on the doorknob. "I guess we need to go this way. I don't see anything else that I can do here."

"…If that is what you want to do," Demon Rue answered, his words sounding uneasy.

"What's wrong with you?" Rue asked.

"You will see shortly," was all Demon Rue said.

Rue decided not to press him any further. He opened the door, revealing a hallway with white walls and matching carpet. He went into it, wondering which way he should go. Then he felt a sudden urge to go to the right.

"Ok, that way," Rue decided, walking down the hall. He kept going until he saw another door at the end of the hallway. It was partly opened. But Rue did not even look at the door when he saw who was standing outside it.

A young boy, who seemed to be about six, was standing outside of the door with a nervous expression. It only took Rue a second to recognize who the boy was, even though his clothes were nothing like the ones Rue now wore.

"It's me," Rue said in awe, staring at his younger self. "That's why this all looked familiar… this is where I used to live…"

Then Rue hesitated. "But I don't remember this…" He went up to his younger self and tried to put his hand on his shoulder.

Rue was amazed to see it go through the child version of himself. He held his hand in front of his eyes, but it seemed as solid as ever.

"So nobody even knows I am here…" Rue realized. But before he could continue to talk to himself, he heard a man speak.

"I know I am right, and nothing you say will change facts! His blood tests clearly show that something is abnormal about him. As absurd as it may seem, the only possibility is that his body houses a demon! Believe it or not, I have books that tell of such occurrences. The only way to prevent that monster from emerging is to kill its host-your son!"

The voice of the female the responded nearly made his heart stop. "It isn't Rue! He's fine, perfectly fine! I know he's all right!"

"…Mom," Rue whispered.

"It has nothing to do with how the boy himself is. The demon inside of him is the problem. I apologize for the inconvenience, but he has to go," the man replied, not sounding very sorry at all. "If you would just cooperate and bring him here…"

"No! I won't let you kill him!" the woman protested.

Two pairs of eyes widened at the sound of a sharp slap. "You selfish woman! By keeping your son alive, you could be dooming the world!"

After a moment, she said, "And your incomplete facts could be responsible for slaying someone who is innocent!"

An abrupt thud and a cry of pain sounded from the room. That was all both Rues could take. The younger one flung the door open, running inside. The real Rue lost no time in following him.

This room seemed to be another study room of sorts. There was a desk with more papers on it, along with a black case. Rue didn't even bother to examine his surroundings. Instead, he focused on the two adults. Leaning against the wall, on her knees, was a woman with a white shirt and a long, gray skirt. Her pale white hair fell to about her waist, and was nearly covering her brown eyes.

In front of her stood a man in a neat black suit and matching pants, with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. Judging by the way he set his foot down, and the way the woman held her arms over her stomach, it was clear that he had just kicked her brutally.

The young Rue instantly ran up to his mother, flinging his arms around her. "Mom!"

Rue's mother looked down at him, horrified by his sudden appearance. "Rue, leave now! Get out of here!"

"Well, this makes things much more convenient," the man commented. He reached into the case on the desk, bringing out a small, black pistol. The metal glinted as he pointed it at Rue. "Step away from your mother, and we will only have one death today. I will kill both of you if necessary though. I don't care about consequences. When it comes to my fate or the world's, I choose the world."

The younger Rue turned his head towards him, terror written across his face. Yet he didn't move.

"Fine, I'll kill you both!" the man shouted, pressing the trigger. A bullet shot directly at Rue's chest. Rue shut his eyes, facing away.

Then, to everyone's disbelief, the young boy reached up and caught the bullet.

"What?" the man said, stepping back. "How…?"

Rue smirked, and then his eyes flashed open. They were red.

"Even now, after so much time to develop, humans have such flimsy weapons," Demon Rue laughed, tossing aside the bullet as though it were merely a rock. "You seriously believed you could kill a demon with such a weak attack?"

The man couldn't even respond, frozen in dread.

"Now… I believe it is my turn…" Demon Rue said with a cold smile. Dark energy began to surround him, crackling as it did. "Your blood is far too appealing to me. You tried to take my host's life, so I think it is fair enough if I take your own, right?"

His prey stepped back, holding up his hands in front of him, but it was far too late to beg for mercy. The dark energy suddenly flew out, consuming the whole room. The real Rue covered his eyes with his hand, waiting for it to pass.

When it faded, he saw his younger counterpart standing there, shaking. His eyes were brown once more. He was staring at the man, who lay on his back, dead.

"Rue…"

Both Rues turned. The younger Rue immediately ran to his mother, while the other one remained where he was, staring in shock.

She was covered with blood from the energy hitting her, tearing her skin in several locations. She weakly smiled at the younger Rue. "It's all right, Rue…"

"No! You can't die!" Rue said, his eyes blurring.

"Rue… we all must die eventually…" she whispered, lifting her hand to his face. "I just wish I could remain a bit longer… so that you and your father… would not be alone…"

"Mom!" Rue exclaimed.

"…Goodbye... my love…" his mother said softly, her hand sliding away as she closed her eyes forever.

The younger Rue, seeing that nothing could be done for her now, did not even try to hold back his tears now. They flowed down his face, blood that had been flecked onto it mixing with them.

Rue just watched, unable to do anything. He felt his eyes misting over as well.

Then the younger Rue reached out with a trembling hand, his fingers running over her bloody arm. He hesitated for a moment, and then his eyes flashed red briefly. Rue put his fingers up to his mouth, and began to lick the blood off them.

The real Rue backed away, appalled, as he watched his younger self continue to lick the spilled blood off his mother's corpse. It took all of his might to resist the urge to throw up at the sight of it.

Suddenly, the door was flung open again. A man wearing a brown suit and black pants, with gray hair and hazel eyes, came in. He halted abruptly, seeing the younger Rue licking the blood off of his mother's face.

"Oh my God…" the man managed to say, dropping the briefcase he had been holding. It popped open, papers scattering everywhere.

The younger Rue spun around. His red eyes almost instantly returned to brown again. "…Dad…" he whispered.

His father seemed even more horrified when he saw Rue's lips, smeared with blood. He stepped back, saying, "You… you monster…" Without another word, he spun around and ran out of the room.

Rue fell forward, his head buried in his arms as he began to sob again. Then his younger self faded away, leaving the real Rue alone in the wrecked room.

"…No wonder I wanted to forget what had happened…" Rue said.

"It overwhelmed you. I used some of my remaining power to block the memory so that you would be relatively undamaged. I wanted my host to be in the best condition possible," Demon Rue explained.

"…Why? Why did you do all this?" Rue asked, not sure what to think.

To his surprise, he felt an emotion that he could have sworn was… sadness. From Demon Rue, that seemed impossible, yet…

"It was similar to when I hacked apart that General of Hell. Being newly brought out into the world, I behaved like the most minor of demons. It was disgraceful on my part. I lusted to be able to unleash my power, and to be able to finally feast on something to make me stronger…" After a moment of silence, Demon Rue added, "Your mother's blood was what really awakened me. In a sense, she gave birth to me as well."

Rue did not say anything.

"I have no desire to kill again for merely amusement. I have always thought of myself as a higher, more sophisticated demon." A bitter laugh echoed through Rue's mind. "Going out of control twice proved me wrong there. I cannot make any excuse for my actions. I offer my apologies."

Rue blinked. "…Have you found a heart?"

"No," Demon Rue snapped. "I do not need one to feel sorry for an action that I did not mean to take."

If Demon Rue had not been inside of Rue, he was not sure how he would have reacted. He probably would have never believed the demon. Yet, he could feel his emotions still… and he was now positive that Demon Rue felt genuine sorrow.

"…I can't say I like you. Hell, I think I hate you more than anything else at this moment," Rue said. "But I forgive you."

"…What?"

"I said I forgive you." Rue looked towards the wall, still blood-stained. "I won't get anywhere pinning the blame on you. It's pointless to even try."

"…And if I were lying with my words?"Demon Rue asked.

"You aren't. I can feel your emotions, remember?" Rue said.

"…Damn it. I wasn't aware of that," Demon Rue growled.

"Well, I can. So I mean what I said," Rue told him.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping filled the room. Rue spun around and saw his reflection, applauding.

"Excellent. It seems you passed the first trial," Dark Rue said. "I was hoping you would. Now I have the chance to fight you myself."

Rue tensed. "What do you mean by trial?"

"Each person who enters the mirror must face three trials," Dark Rue explained. "You just passed the first one. I am the second trial. If you defeat me, you will soon see what the third trial is."

"Fine! I'll accept your challenge!" Rue declared.

"Good," Dark Rue smirked. He held out his left arm, and a Duel Disk appeared. "Such a more convenient method, dueling is. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I've had enough of blood," Rue stated, turning on his Duel Disk. "I won't argue with this method of fighting."

Rue: 8000

Dark Rue: 8000

"You go first," Dark Rue told him.

"Kind of you," Rue commented as he drew. "I play one monster in defense mode and one card face down. That's it."

"I summon Skilled Black Magician (1900/1700) and attack your facedown monster," Dark Rue said.

"You've triggered my trap card, Claymore Mine!" Rue announced. "That destroys Skilled Black Magician."

"Fine. I end my turn."

"I'll flip summon my Doublecoston," (1700/1650) Rue said. "Then I sacrifice it to summon Black Magician! (2500/2100) Black Magician attacks directly! That's it."

Rue: 8000

Dark Rue: 5500

Dark Rue did not seem troubled by how much damage he had taken. "I activate Black Magic Curtain." A Black Magician instantly appeared in front of him.

Rue: 8000

Dark Rue: 2750

"Then I activate Thousand Knives, destroying your Black Magician. My Black Magician attacks you directly."

The wave of black magic hit Rue dead on, nearly causing him to collapse from pain.

Rue: 5500

Dark Rue: 2750

"The agony is real for you." Dark Rue laughed coldly. "However, I cannot feel pain, so that rule only hurts you-literally. I end my turn after laying one card down."

"That won't stop me," Rue growled. "I summon my own Skilled Black Magician, and then activate Early Burial to bring back Black Magician!" He winced as his Life Point counter dropped from activating Early Burial.

Rue: 4700

Dark Rue: 2750

"My Black Magician attacks yours, killing both. Then my Skilled Black Magician attacks you directly! That's it."

Rue: 4700

Dark Rue: 850

"I grow tired of this," Dark Rue said. "I activate my trap card, Cry of the Living Dead, to revive my Black Magician. He attacks Skilled Black Magician."

Although the Skilled Black Magician took the main blow, Rue was still hit by the remains of the dark magic. He stumbled back, but regained his balance swiftly.

Rue: 4100

Dark Rue: 850

"It is your turn."

Rue glanced at his hand and grimaced. It looked like a pretty bad situation for him. He slowly drew, and sighed in relief when he saw what it was.

"This will hurt, but it's worth it to win the duel," Rue told Dark Rue. "I summon Injection Angel Lily! (400/1500) Then I pay 2000 Life Points to use her effect!"

The sudden drop of Life Points to gasp, falling to his knees. Lily rushed forward, thrusting her large needle into the Black Magician. He began to bloat unpleasantly before exploding.

Rue: 2100

Dark Rue: 0

"D-damn…" the reflection managed to say. "I overestimated my capabilities… a bad habit you gave me…" Then it was gone.

Rue shakily got up. "It looks like he's gone… but what about that third trial thing?"

As he said that, the room around him began to fade. Darkness surrounded him for a moment, and then he found himself in a new location.

Rue was sitting on the slope that lead down to the lake. The sun was setting, causing the lake to shine brilliantly as it reflected the colors.

"A nice sight, isn't it?"

Rue started, and then looked to his left. Sitting next to him was a woman. But for some reason, he couldn't really see her very well. She was out of focus, so he could not make out any of her features.

Despite that, Rue felt as though she was trustworthy. She almost seemed familiar to him… "Yeah. I love being here."

The woman smiled; even though he could not see her face, he could feel the gesture. "I don't often get the chance to come to this spot very often. It is relaxing though." The woman sighed. "I could certainly use some relaxation after all that's happened."

"All that's happened?" Rue asked.

"…Yes. Things are going by quickly. And we still don't know who we are facing." The woman glanced over at him with eyes that Rue could not distinguish. "It doesn't give me much time to think about my own feelings."

Rue blinked. "What do you mean?"

The woman glanced away, seeming nervous. "Ah… nothing important…"

"Obviously it is, or you wouldn't have brought it up," Rue stated.

After a moment of hesitation, the woman said, "I have… feelings… for someone that I know. Even though I do not have trouble showing it, I cannot tell whether he thinks the same of me. We are often more concerned with our enemies at the time, so I often try to keep my thoughts focused on those. But those feelings keep coming back…"

Rue remained silent until she was done. Then he said, "I can't say I've gone through the same thing. However, my advise is to just tell him outright how you feel."

"What?"

"You said you show your emotions, right? But you never outright told him what you felt," Rue pointed out.

"…That is true," the woman agreed.

"Say what you feel before it's too late. It's very possible that he thinks the same of you, but does not know how to tell you," Rue advised. "There's no sense in dragging it out… at least, that's how I see it."

"…Yeah… I think you're right," the woman said as she stood up. "Thank you. That helped. I think I can do what I need to now."

"No problem." Rue rose as well, despite the pain left from the duel he had been in. As he tried to see her face again, he had a sudden thought. Before thinking, he said, "I'm sure you'll do fine if you just be yourself. Where's the confident girl that beat me so easily? She'll get through it fine."

The woman stared at him. "Rue?"

As she said that, Rue felt himself fading away. The last thing he saw was the woman finally come into focus. But only for a second. He smiled to himself, knowing his guess had been right.

…

"We're going to be at our wit's end if we have to wait this long for each person to finish," Miles commented as they waited for Rue to return. For the most part, they had been completely silent, except for Brandi's quiet sobs and Larka's soft reassurances.

"It's not like we have much of a choice but to wait," Max stated.

As he said that, the mirror began to glow. Rue toppled out, nearly collapsing. Ruecian was already there though, and grabbed his shoulder to support him.

"Hey, it looks like you made it through!" Draken said.

Rue grinned. "Yeah. It wasn't too bad."

Hope was looking at the mirror. "Rue, what is that?"

They turned to see an image on the mirror. It was the doll of Rue, now in a standing position. Clenched in its small hand was an axe about as big as it was.

"I'd call it the focal point of my trial," Rue answered. "It seems like whatever most represents us shows up on the mirror."

"How did the trial go?" Gen asked.

"There were three parts in all, but I don't know if everyone will have the same thing," Rue said. "I saw my worst memory, then dueled my reflection, and met a person. I'll go more into detail later if necessary." Rue cast a concerned glance at Brandi. "How is she doing?"

"Not too good mentally," Larka replied, looking up briefly. "Physically… if we're quick enough, I think it will be all right."

"Oh, that's what I forgot to mention," Rue realized. "When you duel your reflection, losing Life Points hurts you. That's why I feel as though I'm about to fall over. So be careful."

"All right," Hope said. "If that's it, then let's find out who goes in next."

They turned to the mirror that was to the right of Rue's. After a moment, the black reflection with its red eyes appeared.

"It appears that I am the next one to go," Will stated, calmly gazing at his reflection.

"Be careful in there," Rue said.

"Of course." Will began to walk to the mirror.

"Come back soon!" Neo called.

Will turned back and nodded. "Ok." Then he walked into the mirror.

…

Claire breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Rue come back out of the mirror, looking mostly all right.

"Good, he seems to be all right," Amy said.

Matt was still concerned about Brandi, but Larka seemed to be helping her as much as she could be helped. So Matt tried to let himself relax a bit, even though it was difficult.

"Looks like it's Will's turn," Amy commented as she watched him enter the mirror.

Sarius smiled slightly. "He is one that I cannot bring myself to feel too concerned about."

"Yeah. Will should do fine," Claire agreed as they waited for him to return.

To be continued…