Chapter 8
"Welcome to Kaiba Corp. Island. We hope you enjoyed your boat ride. Please follow me." bellowed a guard.
The group followed the guard that seemed in charge towards a giant tower that was lighted up in the distance. The tower was huge. Illidan had been to see several huge buildings before, but never a tower this large.
As they continued to walk, his thoughts started to catch up with his predicament. "I've got to remember, this is going to be one of the most important things I do in my life. I must try and keep the world safe. If what Shadi said is true, then the whole world is in danger. I could be the only one to save it."
While he was lost in thought, Illidan had slowed down, thus allowing the group to move further and further away.
Marie happened to look back and noticed that Illidan was falling behind, thus making her believe he was lost in thought.
Silently, she began to silently think to herself "I wonder if he knows that he might be the one to save the world. If he doesn't, then maybe I should tell him. But then again, my Millennium Necklace showed me images of either Illidan, Yugi, Marik, or me dueling Gozaburo. Another problem is I can't look past that duel, or even see the result of the duel. Oh well, I'd better grab him and get him back to reality."
"Illidan, come on. You're falling behind." Marie called out.
Illidan's thoughts were quickly broken, making him say "Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I'm coming."
He quickly sped up till he was finally beside Marie.
Again, he got lost in his thoughts. "I won't let anything happen to any of them, especially Marie. I can't let Gozaboorro take over the world. I must press on and protect them, at all costs."
"Illidan, you seem so lost in thought tonight. What is the matter?"
Once again, Illidan had heard Marie's sweet voice cut right through his thoughts.
Snapping out of his daze, Illidan looked over at Marie. She was starring right into his brown eyes, trying to find out what he was thinking most likely.
Smiling, he said "Oh, nothing really. Just staring out into space as usual."
Sighing, she replied with "Ok, because you seem so distracted today. Like your mind is in another place or something."
Answering truthfully, he said "I guess I'm just thinking about the tournament."
Smiling, she responded with "Oh, ok."
Silently in her thoughts though, she said "I wonder if Illidan knows what is going to happen in the tournament. Maybe I should tell him? But if I do, I don't know what might happen. Then again, it maybe my destiny to tell him about the tournament. I don't know what to do."
Illidan noticed how lost Marie seemed now and jokingly said "Now look who is lost in deep thought."
The words he spoke knocked her out of her thoughts, causing her to say "Huh, oh, sorry about that. Just thinking about the tournament as well."
Laughing, Illidan said "And you say I daydream too much. Well, we're almost there. Let's try and catch the group."
Hurrying along, they finally caught up with the group of duelists and guests. At long last, the guards brought the group into the tower.
Once inside, they walked to the center of the room. There sat Gozaburo on a thrown like structure.
Seto Kaiba ran forward, pointing an angry finger at Gozaburo, screaming "Hey pops, who do you think you are, sitting in my chair!"
Gozaburo only laughed at Seto's tone of voice and replied with "Is that any way to talk to your father?"
Angry, Seto screamed back "YOU AREN'T MY FATHER! You are my step father, and only that. My real father was more of a man than you'll ever be Gozaburo!"
Smirking, Gozaburo calmly responded with "You wish Seto. Your real father was a bum, and a filthy one at that. But I'm not going to go into that. You don't remember him too well, but I do. Now, onto more important things."
Mokuba grabbed his brother's hand and said "Don't let him bug you Seto. Just remember why you're here." Seto grudgingly nodded and stepped back to rejoin the group. He was still furious, but attempted to calm down.
Gozaburo smirked and then said "Alright duelists, I'll make this short and sweet. This is the Tournament of Power. You will all duel at a minimum of ten times. Wins and losses of the duels will be saved. Also, there will be a ranking system. This system will be setup by lottery draw to begin with, but with each duel you win or lose, the rankings will adjust to that win or loss. At the end of the ten duels, your rankings will be used to figure out your starting place in the final ten way duel…"
"Ten way duel? Are you insane? That would be extremely hard to pull off old man!" yelled out Bandit Keith.
Shaking his head to show the idiocy of Keith, he then looked back up to watch and listen to Gozaburo.
Chuckling, Gozaburo then continued, saying "It will be a ten way duel to determine who is worthy of dueling me. But it doesn't end there. Once you win the ten way duel, you will then face five of my associates to make certain you are the best of the best. Then, if you somehow defeat each of them, you will finally face me. And I can then assure you, it will be a duel that you will never forget!"
Gozaburo then smiled evilly at the group. Illidan was getting a feeling that this guy was half crazy. Maybe the Millennium Crown had done it to him, but he wasn't sure yet.
"That is how this tournament will run. Now, for the official rules. Each of you will pick a Deck Master here today. It will be your Deck Master throughout the rest of the tournament, so pick well. Once you have picked a monster, insert it into the Deck Master slot on your Duel Disks. It will then lock the card inside, which means no one will be able to switch Deck Masters. Now, go choose your Deck Master! My men will record which monster you choose. That monster's Deck Master ability will not be told to you here today. You will receive an email on your computer in your room later tonight. Now begin the choosing!" declared Gozaburo.
Each of the duelists seemed to head to their own little area, searching their deck for one card that could be their Deck Master. All that is, but Illidan. Illidan stepped forward to the guy in charge of recording which monster they choose as their Deck Masters.
"Yes, may I help you?" asked the man in a suit.
"I've picked my Deck Master." Illidan kindly said.
Nodding, the man then said "Alright, just tell me what it is and then stick it in the Deck Master slot."
"It is Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)." declared Illidan.
Writing down the monster name, the man then nodded and said "Very well. Now, just insert him into the slot."
Illidan then tapped the slot where his Deck Master would be placed. The slot quickly opened and Illidan stuck his monster into the slot. Illidan then saw the slot close and sound like it locked. "Wow, it really did lock itself. Must be a command that was created to work in this building."
The man then nodded and said "Alright, you are already now. All you have to do is wait till the others decide. Then you will be told what is next."
"Thank you." Illidan responded.
Illidan then turned and went to sit up against a wall. After a short time, Illidan then saw four duelists head to the man in charge of recording the Deck Masters. The four were Yugi, Joey, Marik, and Bakura.
Bakura went first, displaying his Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) card. Then Joey came forward, showing his Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) card. Next, Marik showed his Puppet Master (0/0) card. Finally, Yugi showed his Dark Magician (2500/2100) card.
Once the four were done, they walked over to Illidan and sat down with him.
"Hopefully we all picked good cards," stated Marik.
"As long as you let the Heart of the Cards guide you, you will always pick the right card." replied Yugi with a smile.
Illidan looked over, after hearing Yugi give his little saying. "You know, he is right. As long as you let the Heart of the Cards lead you, there isn't anything you can't do."
After a while, Marie finally went up to a guard, flashing her Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000) card to him. Behind her, Seto Kaiba showed his Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650). In behind him, Mai Valentine showed her Amazoness Paladin (1700/300).
The last two were Bandit Keith and Noa Kaiba. Keith showed his powerful Machine King (2200/2000). Finally, Noa Kaiba displayed his Shinato – King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000). At last, all the Deck Masters were chosen.
Once Noa was done, Gozaburo then spoke up once again, saying "Good, now that that is out of the way, all duelists will now draw one lottery number. Duelists, line up and draw."
The duelists then formed a line quickly. One by one, they each drew a lottery number from a black bag. When it was all over and done with, the following rankings were displayed. 1st Yugi Moto; 2nd Seto Kaiba; 3rd Bandit Keith; 4th Marik Ishtar; 5th Noa Kaiba; 6th Marie O'Dell; 7th Bakura Ryou; 8th Illidan Stormrage; 9th Mai Valentine; 10th Joey Wheeler.
Gozaburo then cleared his throat and said "Now duelists, I will set up the matches daily. You will know who you face each morning. Remember, these duels will be important in determining where you start in the final ten way duel. Also, just so Bandit Keith and Seto know, their titles are on the line…"
Keith screamed "NO WAY!"
Everyone turned to see Keith with his jaw wide open.
Gozaburo only laughed and said "Lose the duel, and you will lose your title. They will be defended each time you duel. No exceptions. Also, I will have tag teams made too. There will be a tag team title for the best team. Well, this is all I have for you all tonight. Now, rest up, cause you will need it tomorrow. My guards will escort all of you to your rooms. Good night and good luck, for you'll each need it!"
After he said those last words, he only let loose a wild insane laughter. Then he hit a button on his throne. Slowly, the throne with Gozaburo in it started sliding back towards the back of the tower.
A guard then cleared his throat and said "Now, if you all will follow me, I'll show you each of you to your rooms."
This guard then led all the duelists into an elevator. After everyone squeezed in, they went to a floor marked living quarters. Once there, the guard showed each person to their rooms.
After finally making it to his room, Illidan laid down on the bed. "Well, so far so good. Hopefully things will be alright, but I have a bad feeling about Gozaburo. He seemed to be starring at us as if we were just his play things. Oh well, no use in worrying about it."
Illidan finally decided he'd better get some sleep. Checking in his duffle bag, Illidan found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that he usually slept in. After looking around the room, he realized it was much larger than he first though. There was a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room. "Wow, Gozaburo must have went to great expense for us all."
After going into the bathroom, Illidan brushed his teeth and washed his face. Finally, he was ready for sleep. "Tomorrow will be a long day. Well, better try to get some sleep." Slowly, Illidan drifted away into a deep sleep.