Hello once again everyone. I'm glad everyone liked my chapter with Shadi becoming mortal. As for the pairing of Ishizu and Shadi, we'll see. After all, Ishizu has a say in the matter. She could turn him down… Or she could tackle him the moment she sees him, lol. Who knows what may happen, other than me, rofl. At any rate, it's time to get to those reviews.

thehyperactivecow: Yep, no one ever thinks of poor Ishizu and Shadi. As for guarding the items, there are really none left to guard at the moment. All that is left is his scales, and they belong to him, so no need to guard the items anymore.

pink-kiss-candy: Yeah, eyebrow rise indeed, hehe. But it's a good pairing. Or it could be, if Ishizu accepts him, or Marik don't enslave him with the Millennium Rod, hehe. Watches Ryou trying to find the baseball bat again. Ryou: "HIT ME, SOMEBODY! MAKE ME UGLY!" Smacks him in head with foam covered baseball bat. Happy?

Brianna Ishtar: I hope he doesn't become emo… I can't have an emo item holder, lol. But yeah, I made him sort of more relaxed. His duty is over, so no need for him to remain distant. Watches Ryou punch himself. Ryou: "MUST BECOME UGLY!"

Tomb Robber Vicky: Yeah, no one seems to have expected that, lol. Shiny, shiny, pretty, pretty! Shutters at saying that. Also smacked in the back of the head for saying that by Marie. Marie: "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO SAY THAT!" Yes dear… I got that saying off My Gym Partner is a Monkey in case anyone wandered. Shutters at that show again.

Isis the Sphinx: Yes, he's rather sarcastic at times, lol. Only at times, when Marie isn't hurting him for being sarcastic, lol.

Metal Overlord 2.0: Yeah, it was a semi short chapter. From time to time, I did throw a short one, but most at least had close to 2000 words when they were short. The longer ones hit the 3000 words mark or so usually. But yeah, poor Shadi. Ah, whey did you have to break up the fight, lol? Has an idea. Let's put them in a mud… Smacked the back of the head again by Marie. Never mind… Just ignore my ideas… Lol, but poor Ryou. Now there is twice the wish for ugliness.

Well, all this week I'll post a chapter, due that the entire thing spans over seven days, so I hope you all enjoy it. Till tomorrow, enjoy.

Chapter 74

Once Shadi finally left Illidan's room, Illidan went over to look at the clock that was beside his bed. By the way the light looked in his room, he guessed it was nearly dawn. Sure enough, the clock said it was nearly six o'clock. He only had an hour or two left to prepare for his duel.

"So, this is it at last. Me and Yami will duel, and if I'm to fulfill my destiny, I have to beat him." he thought silently. Slowly, Illidan headed for the shower and came out in new clothes. He put on his favorite jeans again and decided to go with a white undershirt and black button up shirt that had orange flames on it.

Deciding to have a special breakfast, Illidan cooked up some potatoes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast. After he finished up, Illidan ate in silence and then did his dishes. Satisfied with his meal, he then headed over to his computer.

Settling down, he started reading on the fan fiction Otherworld again. Slowly, he let his imagination drift away through the story, imagining how the characters would look and interact. Once done with the new chapters from it, he discovered a new story named Fragile Dreams. This story tied in with the other, and the story deeply interested Illidan.

After reading for quite a while, he stopped, seeing he only had twenty minutes left till his duel. He decided to quickly meditate to get his mind prepared for the duel. Mentally, he slowly prepared himself for all that he would face.

"I can do this. The future of my friends and the world are depending on me. If I fail, then it will be on my head, and Gozaburo will control everything. No, I won't let them down. I will fight to the bitter end against him in order to protect my friends and the woman I love. I swore to always protect her, and I will!"

At last, he finished and opened his eyes. He stood up from his sitting position on the bed and checked his deck quickly, seeing it was definitely ready. Once satisfied, he stuck his deck back in it's deck holder and stuck it on his belt. He then grabbed his Duel Disk and strapped it on.

Ready to leave, Illidan said "Here I come Yami, ready or not!"

Walking out the door, Illidan headed towards the elevator with purpose in his steps. About half way there, he noticed a clock on the wall. It said the time was 7:58 A.M.

One word came to mind when he saw it, and yelled "CRAP!"

He quickly began running, knowing what would happen if he didn't make it. "If you're not there by 8:00 A.M. sharp, I have to forfeit the duel! I can't forfeit, not now!"

He ran and ran till he made it to the elevator where Yugi and the judge stood. Illidan was out of breath as he stopped in front of the two.

In a sarcastic voice, the judge said "Well, glad to see you made it Mr. Stormrage. You are just on time. Please proceed into the elevator."

All three then boarded the elevator. Looking out, Illidan saw it was a cloudy morning, and it was raining out. A thunder storm had blown in over night and was there to stay for the day. The wind was whipping and throwing sheets of water against the elevator window. Finally, they arrived at the top of the Duel Tower.

As they walked out, Illidan quickly noticed Gozaburo Kaiba was sitting in his throne next to the field. He had a smirk on his face, making Illidan think he had something evil in mind for their duel, but pushed it aside.

Slowly, the rest of the duelists gathered up in the stands. In the stands, talk was going all about the upcoming duel.

Joey, Tea, Duke, Serenity, and Tristan were talking about it among themselves.

"Joey, does Yugi stand a chance?" asked a timid Tea.

Joey only squinted at the field, and after a moment, said "Well Tea, he does, but he's got to be ready for anything. Illidan is a strong duelist, and he will be hard to stop. To tell you the truth, Yugi will be in one of the most important duels in his career here. If he wins, he'll be number one, and become Intercontinental and World Champion. He has the title King of all Games, but that's just a title Pegasus created for him. But to be honest, it will be close."

"Big brother, do you think Yugi can do it?" then interjected Serenity with so much innocence in her eyes.

Joey looked over at his sister and smiled, saying "Yeah, I do. He just has to watch Illidan close though, and he has to believe in the Heart of the Cards, no matter what."

Duke then took Serenity by the arm gently, saying "Don't worry Serenity, Yugi will win. How about we go grab a seat?"

Tristan quickly butted in, taking Serenity's other arm and saying "Serenity, it's way better over here. Come and sit right over here with me."

The two irritated boys then started yelling comments at one another, mostly consisting of "She would rather sit here." and "You have no idea what she wants." Duke and Tristan only continued to argue over where Serenity should sit. Both wanted her love desperately, but ironically, neither had ever had success with her.

Meanwhile, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion were sitting by themselves and talking over the duel as well.

"Sister, do you think the pharaoh can win against Illidan?" asked an inquisitive Marik.

Ishizu turned to Marik and sighed, saying "Only fate knows. Both are undefeated, and both still have as strong a possibility of making it to fight Gozaburo. So, only the fates know now."

Odion then put a gentle hand on his step brother's shoulder, and kindly said "Don't worry Master Marik, all will be fine. The pharaoh will pull through."

Elsewhere in the crowd, Seto sat in deep thought. "If Yugi proves he's stronger than Illidan, I'll be there to pick up the pieces from this duel. I will take down both Yugi Moto and Illidan Stormrage by the end of this tournament, and then the world will know I am the one and only true champion!"

The last few in the stands by themselves were Mai, Bakura, and Marie. They were busy as well trying to figure out if Illidan had a chance against the King of Games or not.

"Does he stand a chance Marie?" asked a concerned Bakura.

Marie only smiled, and replied "You have to have faith in him Bakura. He can do it. We just have to believe in him."

"But Yugi has an Egyptian God Card. How can Illidan over come it?" interjected Mai with concern in her voice.

Marie turned to Mai and smiled, saying "That doesn't matter really. Remember, me and Illidan both have defeated each of the God Cards. They are not invincible, and are far from it. We just have to trust in Illidan and hope he pulls through."

Silently in her thoughts, she told herself "He can do it. I know that he can. Illidan, I love you, and know you can beat the pharaoh. Just believe in yourself and the Heart of the Cards. I will always believe in you, so go out there and win."

In his throne, Gozaburo only glared down at the field. Silently, he thought to himself "Ah, the two most powerful weaklings. Their self confidence in themselves will be destroyed soon enough. If either gets to me, I'll break them and leave them a dried up shell. I do hope that Illidan makes it though. If he does, I'll be able to punish him for his crimes to the Gozaburo of the past!"

Back on the field, the two duelists slowly walked towards one another. In deep thought, Yugi and Yami were talking as spirits.

"Yugi, this will be the most important duel we've probably ever had up till now. We have to be ready." Yami said to his young vessel.

Yugi nodded to the spirit, saying "You're right Yami. We can't make any errors. We have to be ready for anything Illidan throws at us. We are probably equal in strength, even with Slifer the Sky Dragon in our deck."

Yami nodded back, saying "Right, so that means we have to be that much more careful. Slifer is powerful, but it won't win the duel for us. We have to just play strategically, and trust in the Heart of the Cards. It will guide us."

Back on the field, Illidan was also in deep thought as he approached his former ancient friend from five millennia ago. "Alright, it's me vs. Yami at last. I have to be ready for anything he pulls. I have to be on edge while I face him, and I can't afford any mistakes. I have to remember what I'm fighting for. I'm fighting to save the world, to stop Gozaburo's evil once and for all, and most importantly, I'm fighting to continue to protect Marie. I can't allow that madman Gozaburo to even have a chance to destroy this world or Marie. I won't allow it. If and when I beat Yami, I'll be one step closer to stopping Gozaburo."

The two and the judge then met in the middle of the ring. The judge cleared his throat, saying "Duelists, the following duel is for the Intercontinental and World Championships. Since Illidan is ranked number one, he has choice of who goes first."

Illidan thought for a second and finally said "I'll go second."

The judge nodded and said "Yugi Moto will go first then. Now duelists, shake hands and then shuffle each others decks."

Extending his hand, both shook hands. Illidan stared at the young man that Illidan had come to learn was known as Yugi, who was the vessel for the pharaoh's spirit.

"Good luck Illidan." he kindly and innocently said.

Suddenly Yugi's body transformed, making room for Yami's spirit. Yami then said "And may this be an honorable duel."

Illidan only smiled at this and replied "Yes, it will be. Good luck Yami."

The two then took out their decks and handed one another their decks. Each shuffled them till they were satisfied at last. Then they returned one another's decks.

Clearing his throat, the judge said "Now duelists, to your positions."

Both slowly walked away from one another to make their way to their spots. Finally, both reached their positions and turned to face one another. As they looked at each other, the storm raged on, seemingly growing more and more intense, which set the mood for the duel that was about to take place.

"Duelists, activate your Duel Disks and bring out your Deck Masters. Then draw your first five cards and begin the duel!" ordered the judge.

Both duelists then brought their arms up and each fired their holo projectors. Once the projectors landed and powered up, the Duel Disks unfolded simultaneously and began powering up.

Smiling, Yami said "I'll bring forth my Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" A powerful purple robed mage with a green staff then appeared, making a memory of the past flash in Illidan's mind.

Shaking his head of the past memory, he then said "Come on out Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!" The black armor clad soldier with a powerful sword and shield then appeared on the field.

Each then drew their first five cards and looked at one another as lightning flashed and thunder clapped. Each smiled and yelled "LET'S DUEL!"