Hey all. Hope everyone is enjoying this story so far. If you are or aren't, let me know. I like criticism, so feel free to voice your opinion. Hehe, aka, send some reviews, lol. But thank you to all who have reviewed this so far.

Btw, Supertoad, thank you for the nice comment. I'm glad you like my style of writing. Lol, it's slowly improving with time, hopefully, hehe. And thanks for asking about the background. As the story progresses, more and more of the background is revealed. Lol, the show was in the middle of the fourth season when I started writing on this story, which btw, I beat the movie out too with the idea of an eighth item (they stole my idea, except minus some things, hehe). But yes, there is a background to come later in the story. I hope everyone likes it.

Well, that is all I have so far, so I hope everyone enjoys the next chapters. And thank you all for your comments. Enjoy.

Chapter 13

"Illidan!"

Illidan sat right up after roughly waking up. He was breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and frightened beyond belief. His dream had been so real. What terrified him worse though was that it wasn't a dream, but had been a vision of the past.

In it, Illidan had seen Marie. At the time, she was the owner of the Millennium Necklace. But that wasn't the real problem he had had with the vision.

The problem had been when Gozaburo had taken possession of the Millennium Crown, making him almost invincible. Gozaburo had then announced his plan to take over Egypt by destroying the other seven Millennium Item owners. Instead of allowing this evil plan to come to reality, the seven item holders fought Gozaburo with all they had.

In the end, all of the seven were injured. Illidan himself was nearly killed by the wounds inflicted upon him by Gozaburo, but had managed to hold on. What had really bothered him though was what happened to Marie.

As she had turned to walk away from Gozaburo to check on Yami when Gozaburo rose up again and stabbed her right in the back with a dagger he had had hidden in his sleeve. Her death curdling scream was still ringing in Illidan's mind.

As he sat there, wild questions popped up throughout his mind. Had she been killed by Gozaburo in ancient Egypt? Illidan then thought for a moment about that attack Gozaburo had made. Gozaburo had stabbed her with a dagger, but maybe she had survived the attack.

Finally realizing that he had to do something to get those images out of his head, he looked at the clock. It was 6:30 A.M. once again. Everyday since he had received the Millennium Key, he woke up at this time. He was still unsure why though.

After much debate, Illidan finally decided it was time to get up. Slowly, he got out of bed and jumped into the shower. After his shower, he quickly got dressed. Grabbing some Pop-Tarts, he then went over to the computer.

After logging on, he found out who his opponent for the day was. To his great surprise, his opponent for the day was Noa Kaiba, and they were to duel in the next hour.

Deciding that he'd better make a quick check of his deck, he logged off and then ran through it quickly. Once satisfied, he then slid his deck back into his deck holder. He then ran to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Once he returned, he then grabbed his Duel Disk and his deck holder.

As he noticed the time, he quickly slid his Duel Disk on his arm and put his deck holder on his belt. Illidan then quickly walked to the elevator where the judge was standing. He then looked down the hall to see Noa running quickly towards him and the judge.

Nodding, the judge then said "Alright, both of you into the elevator."

Both Illidan and Noa then complied.

On the way up in the elevator, Illidan looked over at Noa. The young green haired boy that was before him looked rather troubled. "I'd heard that he was Gozaburo's only real son. I wonder if it's true." Before Illidan could ask, they had arrived at the top of the tower.

All three then stepped out of the elevator to the top of the tower. Then both Illidan and Noa stepped into the Duel Ring.

The judge then cleared his throat and started his usual speech. "Alright duelists, I want a good clean duel. Now, both of you come to the middle and shake hands." Illidan and Noa met in the middle and gently shook hands.

Smiling, Illidan then said "Good luck Noa."

Noa nodded and replied with "Good luck to you too Illidan."

"Now duelists, hand your deck to your opponent so they can shuffle your deck." ordered the judge.

Illidan then grabbed his deck from it's holder and handed it to Noa. At the same time, Noa pulled his deck from his Duel Disk slot and handed it to Illidan. Both then shuffled each others deck. Once they finished, each handed the other their decks back.

Nodding, the judge then said "Now, insert your decks into your Duel Disks." Both complied rather quickly.

"Now duelists, this duel is not only for the tournament, but it is also for your Intercontinental Title, Illidan." declared the judge.

Looking at the judge with a surprised look, he then said "Huh?"

The judge quickly replied with "You must defend it in each duel, unless specified otherwise. Now, Noa, since you have a higher rank in tournament stats, you get to choose who goes first."

After thinking for a moment, Noa then looked up and said "I'll let Illidan go first."

Nodding, the judge then said "Very well, Illidan shall go first then. Duelists, to your marks."

Slowly, both walked to the markings specifying were each duelist was to stand during the duel.

"Activate your Duel Disk and bring out your Deck Master. Then draw your first five cards and begin the duel." ordered the judge.

Both Illidan and Noa quickly fired their holographic projectors. After the projectors landed, both of their Duel Disks unfolded, and activated.

Noa then called out "Come forth my powerful Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000)." A giant blue skinned angle with six golden wings then appeared beside Noa.

Illidan stared at it for a second and then said "Come to my aid Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)." The powerful warrior in black armor then appeared beside of Illidan.

After each then drew their first five cards, they both yelled "Time to duel!"