Hello once again everybody! This week has been somewhat quickly flying by since last time. Not much has happened really in life. I've just kind of been taking it easy the last 2 evenings, mostly relaxing, thinking up things to add to this story, enjoying lots of time with my mate (who keeps dragging me away from writing, lol), and just trying to recollect myself I suppose.

Last time, Illidan and Marie checked on the state of the shrines that house the Egyptian God Cards, as well as the abandoned dorm, which was once the Anubis Dorm, that houses the final Egyptian God Card. Illidan released small tidbits of info to Marie, but keeps her out of the loop for her own protection. The duel between Illidan and Zane then began for the Teachers Tournament, leaving everyone asking, who will win?

Ok, let's get down to this! It's once again review time!

Very Swampeh: Yeah, he's very mysterious about the seals and shrines, but then again, they are his responsibility, and maybe he wants to only bear that burden. Lol, yes, I'm sure Marie is quite irritated with his secrets. Hmm, mystery man's friends, eh? Anything is possible. Yep, at long last, Illidan vs. Zane! Indeed it is going to be an explosive duel.

Isis the Sphinx: LOL! Uh… my mate refuses comment on that one, hehe. Seriously, she hasn't had much time, or been inspired either, to continue on with it. She has ideas that we came up with together, but she's yet to put them on paper or computer. I asked her, and she said once she got a good job, she'd pick back up with it. She was sort of surprised I think that anyone even asked about it, lol. Actually, she has 2 stories to finish. History of the Millennium Items and Cartoon Universes are the 2 stories, but she's just not worked on it. She will though, hopefully, hehe. Yes, some plot! Yeah, Algebra isn't hard, just a pain in the butt. Just wait till you get Trig… or Calculus… If you thought Algebra 2 sucked, just wait…

Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks. Heh, the main plot is coming. It just takes a little bit of time to get to it. Actually, it should be coming up soon enough. I believe the plot really kicks in within the next couple of chapters, as I remember. Thanks about grandpa.

x-knight20: Thanks. Yeah, it is. Possibly something or someone messed with Anubis's seal… Do you mean the Egyptian Gods or Sacred Beasts when referring to Zorc? If you meant the Sacred Beasts, well, hehe…

Alright, that's it for this round. Thank you everyone for your continued reviews and support. I greatly enjoy reading everyone's comments, questions, and analysis of my story. It truly helps me in my writing, which I'm so very thankful for. And to anyone who hasn't reviewed, I implore you to. Your comments/questions/analysis are all more than welcome. Don't feel shy about doing it. Heh, even if it's criticism, feel free. Lol, I'm sure any of the reviewers who have been reading since Tournament of Power can attest that I can take the criticism, even when it's bad. But anyways, I again thank everyone who have read this and reviewed, as well as marked it as a fav or alert. Thank you all again. And now, without further ado, the chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 28

Drawing his sixth card, Illidan called out "I hope you're ready for this Zane!"

Immediately, Zane replied "I am. Come, let's see what you got Illidan!"

Smirking, Illidan said in return "You may not want to see it! I start by setting this monster. To end, I'll throw down a face down card." (Illidan 8000, Zane 8000)

Drawing quickly, Zane sternly said "I'm somewhat surprised you'd start the duel out that way. I'll kick things off by special summoning my Cyber Dragon (2100/1600)!"

A mechanical snake like dragon with shiny grey metal appeared on the field, letting out a soft mechanical roar.

"Since that was a special summon, I can now summon my Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600) as well!"

Another mechanical snake like dragon appeared on the field beside the other. This one though appeared less technological, for it had wires hanging out the side of it's body, like it was not completely finished being built.

"Cyber Dragon, attack that face down card with Strident Blaze!"

Roaring at it's master's command, the stronger mechanical dragon opened it's jaws and released a powerful stream of flames.

Seeing the attack coming, Illidan pointed to his face down card, saying "You just triggered my trap! Go Magic Cylinder! Thanks to this, your attack is negated and you lose the life points equal to your dragon's attack points!"

A pair of pink cylinders with yellow trim appeared, with each pointing straight at the flaming attack.

Smirking at this, Zane called out "Not quite Illidan! I activate from my hand the spell card Trap Booster. With this, I can discard a card from my hand in order to activate a trap card from my hand. So, I send my Heavy Mech Support Platform from my hand to the Graveyard in order to activate Trap Jammer, which cancels out your trap card!"

The pair of cylinders shattered instantly, allowing the stream of fire to continue on. As it neared, the horizontal card image glowed, causing the monster to appear. A golden lamp of ancient design on long legs appeared and began glowing.

Slightly smirking, Illidan called out "You've triggered my Ancient Lamp's (900/1400) special ability! When flipped up due to battle, I get to designate a new target on your field as your monster's target, so I pick that Proto-Cyber Dragon!"

Zane watched with an indifferent face as the flames bounced off of the glowing lamp and straight back at the weaker machine dragon. The dragon cried out in pain as it was struck. At long last, it exploded into many pieces, leaving a small plume of smoke.

"Not bad Illidan. I'll lay this face down to end." (Illidan 8000, Zane 7000)

Picking up a new card, Illidan lightly smirked, saying "Thanks, but my lamp does more than just reflect your attack. While it's face up, I can use it's second effect. I can now special summon from my hand La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000)."

A green smoke started spilling out of the golden lamp. Slowly, the smoke took the form of a green genie with a thin mustache, large green muscles with gold bracelets on his writs, a golden necklace around his neck, and a small purple oval hat on his head.

"I sacrifice Ancient Lamp to summon Cybernetic Magician (2400/1000)."

A small flash appeared on the field as the golden lamp vanished, and a mage clad in white appeared. He had a small pointed hat, a white and silver trench coat/robes, blue pants, white boots that went up to his knees, and a small L-shaped rod that had a small bit past the corner of the L size. His hair was blonde, and his skin tone was light green.

"I'm not through yet, for I play the spell Magical Dimension!"

A golden statue that hung in the air thanks to four chains holding it within a metal frame appeared on the field.

"This let's me sacrifice a monster on my field, so farewell La Jinn."

The doors on the top half of the statue opened up and shot out a small white beam at the genie. Slowly, the genie was sucked in, causing the doors on the statue to shut once more.

"Thanks to that sacrifice, I get to special summon any Spellcaster from my hand, so I pick Chaos Command Magician (2400/1900)!"

The statue doors glowed lightly as they opened and a new beam of darkness shot out. Immediately, the darkness took form of a mage in black robes with yellow trim. He wore a hat on his head that hid a majority of his face, but a small sign of blue skin could be seen.

"Also, my spell card has one last effect. I get to destroy one monster on the field, so I pick your Cyber Dragon!"

Immediately, the statue with it's doors still opened shot a golden beam at the machine dragon. It was easily struck, causing a small explosion, sending the dragon into many pieces.

Zane only lightly frowned at this, but kept his peace. Seeing he was eying his face down card, Illidan lightly chuckled, saying "I wouldn't count on that face down to save you! You see, I have another monster I'm going to summon. I sacrifice both my mages in order to special summon Sorcerer of Dark Magic (3200/2800)!"

Both mages vanished in a flash, but was quickly replaced by a more powerful mage. He wore black body armor that covered a majority of his body, except his muscular arms. He had a set of mages robes on over top the armor that were an odd color of blue. On his back, a black cape reached to his feet. A strange set of shoulder pads and a stranger spike like structure rose behind his head. Also, a black hat covered his head, revealing his blue eyes and face, with a little of his blonde hair, only. His hands were covered in black gloves, and in his right hand was a powerful staff. It was green with a tri-pitch fork like design, with a small blue sphere in the center.

"Sorcerer of Dark Magic, direct attack him now with Celestial Blast!"

Pointing his staff directly at Zane, the mage released a powerful sphere of black energy.

Before the blast could reach Zane though, he called out "I activate a trap card…"

As he said this, the mage pointed his staff at the trap card, sending a blast of energy at it, instantly blowing away the rising card known as Call of the Haunted.

"What did your mage just do!?" Zane asked in shock.

Lightly chuckling, Illidan wagged his finger, saying "My mage doesn't like trap cards very much. He has the ability to negate the activation of trap cards and destroy them."

Zane lightly groaned at this, but immediately turned his attention to the blast coming at him. Crossing his arms and bracing himself, Zane waited for the hit to come. It came soon, hitting him hard enough to push him backwards and to one knee. He sat there momentarily, panting lightly from the hit.

"I'm finished for this turn." (Illidan 8000, Zane 3800)

The crowd all cheered loudly, excited by the intensity of the duel so far. Many were shocked, if not completely surprised by Illidan's moves, as well as Zane's.

"I can't believe it, my brother lost that many life points already!" Syrus said with a bit of worry in his voice.

Seeing his worry, Jaden replied with a smile "Don't worry Sy. I'm sure Zane will be just fine."

"Yeah, your brother is one tough duelist. He'll be fine." Alexis reassured him.

Seeing Syrus's unsure look, Hasselberry added "Buck up Private Truesdale. I'm sure General Truesdale will do his very best."

Slightly smiling, Syrus nodded, hoping the others were right.

On the field, Zane stood up once his breathing had finally evened up. Smirking, he said "Not bad Illidan. I knew you'd provide a very entertaining duel."

Lightly chuckling, Illidan replied "This duel is rather fun Zane. I hope it continues to be."

Nodding, Zane drew his card, saying "It shall be, but first, I play the spell Pot of Greed! With this, I can draw two new cards!"

Picking up two more cards, Zane lightly smirked, saying "Things are about to get intense Illidan. I first activate the spell card Future Fusion. The way this card works is simple. I can send some Fusion Material monsters from my deck to the Graveyard, and then special summon the Fusion Monster that would be created by the Fusion Material monsters."

Pulling his deck out, he fanned it out and pushed three cards out. Grabbing all three and turning them to Illidan, Zane said "I pick my two remaining Cyber Dragons (2100/1600) and a lone Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600)!"

Placing all three in his Graveyard slot, the three slowly slid in. After reshuffling his deck, Zane called out "That means I can now summon my Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!"

A large three headed mechanical snake like dragon with massive wings and a single tail appeared on the field with a loud mechanical roar.

"Of course, there is a downside to using Future Fusion. During the turn I summon this monster, it can't attack."

Smirking, Zane added "Although, I intend to change that. I activate the spell card Quick Attack! Thanks to this, my monster can attack this turn!"

Illidan lightly growled at this fact, knowing his advantage was gone now. "Great, now I have to deal with the tin can of destruction."

Swinging his arm around to point his finger at the mage, Zane called out "Cyber End Dragon, blast that mage with Super Strident Blaze!"

Letting out a loud mechanical roar, the three heads of the powerful machine dragon took aim, each with glowing white energy in their mouths. After a moment of charging up, the three heads released their blasts, combining them together into a larger blast. The blast struck the black robed mage, engulfing him within the entire stream of energy. He was soon destroyed within the blast, leaving nothing behind as evidence that he had been there. A little bit of the blast continued on through, striking Illidan, who managed to brace himself from taking too large a hit.

"I think that is a good enough demonstration for now." (Illidan 7200, Zane 3800)

Once the smoke had cleared from the blast, Illidan called out "Well met Zane, but don't expect me to fold so quickly."

Lightly smirking, Zane replied "I know you won't. But I only wonder how long even you can hold up against the might of my dragon."

Drawing a card, Illidan responded "We'll see! I place one card face down and end." (Illidan 7200, Zane 3800)

Picking up his next card, Zane said "Kind of disappointing Illidan. I expected you to summon something. Not that it could stand up against the might of my Cyber End Dragon."

"Your dragon isn't invincible Zane, and I'll prove it when I take it down." Illidan quickly retorted.

Smirking, Zane replied "We shall see. For now though, I summon my last Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600) to the field!"

Another unfinished mechanical snake like dragon with dull grey metal and wires hanging out of it's body appeared onto the field. It let out a weak mechanical roar, attempting to prove it's strength.

"Cyber End Dragon, direct …"

"I don't think so Zane! I activate my trap card, Spellbinding Circle!" interrupted Illidan.

Slowly, a green circle with a strange golden symbol forming on the top, left, right, and bottom formed, with a white question mark like symbol in the center appeared above the field. Illidan pointed at the three headed dragon, causing the circle to follow and ensnare the dragon by it's three massive heads. The creature roared loudly, but finally stopped struggling.

"Thanks to Spellbinding Circle, your dragon can't attack or switch it's mode so long as my trap is in play." Illidan pointed out.

Zane's brow lightly furrowed, but he quickly replaced it with his calmness, saying "That maybe so, but you forgot all about my Proto-Cyber Dragon! Attack him directly!"

The weak machine creature roared as loud as it could and shot a beam of green energy directly at Illidan, who prepared for the blast. The blast struck him quickly, but it wasn't too powerful, thus he didn't slide backwards at all.

"Your move Illidan, but make no mistake, I will free my dragon." (Illidan 6100, Zane 3800)

"I can't believe Zane's Cyber End Dragon has been rendered useless." Alexis commented.

Nodding his head, Chazz added "Me either. Zane almost always has his dragon out and on a rampage."

"Big brother…" Syrus quietly said.

Staring on, Jaden smiled, saying "This duel rocks! Makes me wish I could get down there and mix it up with both of them right now!"

Marie looked back at Jaden and softly smiled at him. Turning back to look at Illidan, her brow furrowed. "Zane has Illidan cornered right now, but the duel isn't over. Hang on Illidan. I know you can do this."

Back on the field, Illidan pulled his next card from his deck and smirked. "It's about time I turned things around, and it starts with this! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000)!"

A mage in maroon colored armor and robes with a sword and maroon shield, along with a maroon cape appeared. Very little of the mages blue skin could be seen, for it was covered by a large cone hat.

"Whenever Breaker is Normal Summoned, his effect goes off. He gains one Spell Counter, which grants him an additional 300 attack points (1600 + 300 1900/1000)."

A small circle in the center of the mage's shield began to glow light blue. It radiated light energy, showing it's magical properties.

"Why bother summoning that mage?" Zane questioned.

Lightly smirking, Illidan replied "I have a very good reason. You see, by removing Breaker's Spell Counter, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field. See where this is going?"

Zane confusingly glanced at Illidan's field, but then back at his own field. His eyes immediately went wide, as he knew what Illidan was after.

Seeing this, Illidan pointed at the lone spell card on Zane's field, saying "Breaker, destroy his Future Fusion!"

Leaping into the air, the mage aimed his shield straight at the spell card. The small circle began to glow more brightly, as energy started crackling around the same spot. In an instant, a blast of light blue light came pouring out of the shield and struck the spell card, causing the card to explode. Slowly, the mage returned to the field, seemingly smirking at his handy work.

"Without your Future Fusion card still on the field, your dragon goes to the Graveyard as well!" declared Illidan.

The three headed dragon roared loudly as suddenly it imploded, sending debris everywhere. Smoke filled the stage, forcing Zane to place a hand over his face in case debris hit him. Once the smoke cleared, only the weaker mechanical dragon remained on Zane's field.

Zane could only growl in frustration as Illidan said "Of course, there is a price my mage pays by me removing his counter. He loses the bonus he just gained by having his Spell Counter (1900 – 300 1600/1000), but it's a price well worth paying."

Pointing at the weaker machine dragon, Illidan called out "Breaker, let's clear the field. Attack Proto-Cyber Dragon with Magical Sword Slash!"

The maroon mage immediately rushed into action. With his arm holding his sword stretched out, he rushed straight for the machine dragon, which stood it's ground. In an instant, the mage vanished, but soon reappeared behind the dragon in a finished attacking stance. The dragon let out a small mechanical roar as suddenly three slash marks appeared across it's body. In a thunderous explosion, the dragon blew up into many pieces of scrap metal, leaving nothing to protect Zane.

"That's enough destruction for one turn. You have a go at it." (Illidan 6100, Zane 3300)

Once again, the crowd was in total shock. In a single set of turns, the tables had been turned once more, putting Illidan again in the lead.

"I can hardly believe it! He played an excellent strategy!" Bastion exclaimed in shock.

Nodding, Alexis added "Yeah, it's hard to believe that he just took Zane's dragon down so easily."

"Hang on Zane. You can do this, I know it." Syrus silently thought as he watched intently.

"He just won't give up." Chazz remarked, sounding somewhat impressed.

Looking on with a shocked expression, Hasselberry finally said "Sam Hill, this duel is fast paced, not to mention action packed! I don't know who will win this one."

"I told you guys this duel would be pretty sweet. Man, I just wish I could duel either of them right now!" Jaden said with giddiness in his voice.

Marie threw a look back at the students and smiled. Looking back to the field, she smiled, mentally saying "That's the way Illidan. Just keep fighting. I know you can win this."