Chapter 87
Mai drew her next card and smirked at it, saying "I'll start things off by playing Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three new cards, but I must discard two from my hand when I'm done. I send Harpie Lady and Harpie's Pet Dragon to the Graveyard. Next I play my Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two new cards. Next I'll summon my Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) in attack mode." A mighty orange tiger with one eye closed appeared on the field, with a golden collar around it's neck.
"Now my Deck Master boosts Amazoness Tiger's attack and defense by 300 points (1400/1800). Then Amazoness Tiger's own effect kicks in. For every monster on my side of the field with the name "Amazoness" in it, Amazoness Tiger gains 400 attack points. Since I have three, she gains 1200 points (2600/1800)." The tiger then roared as it's strength went up.
"Amazoness Tiger, attack Illidan's Beta the Magnet Warrior with Amazoness Swipe!" The tiger gracefully bounded across the field and prepared to swipe the yellow magnet creature.
Right before it could sink it's claws in though, Marie called out "Forget about little old me? I hope not, cause if you did, I'm about to remind you. I activate the trap card known as Mirror Wall! This reduces your monster's attack points by half (1300/1800). So say good bye to your tiger!" The graceful tiger smashed right into a glass wall, instantly cutting it's strength in half, causing Mai to gasp at this.
Glad Marie had saved him, he said with a smile "Beta, counter attack with Magnetic Polarity Punch!" The yellow magnet creature quickly dodged the slow moving tiger's swipe and buried it's magnet shaped hand into it's underside, making the tiger roar in pain till it exploded.
Mai only growled in frustration at the loss of her monster and angrily said "Darn you both. I end my move." (Illidan 2500, Joey 1600, Marie 20000, Mai 3500)
Illidan drew his next card and smiled at his second Blade Knight card. "I'll start by placing one card face down. Now I summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack mode." A knight in full white body armor then raised his sword and shield up into an offensive stance.
"Since I have only one card in my hand, his special effect is triggered. He now gains 400 additional attack points (2000/1000). Blade Knight, attack Mai's Amazoness Swords Woman with Silver Blade Strike!" The knight quickly flew across the field and struck the female warrior's sword hard. Slowly, the sword started cracking till it shattered, but the large top of the sword went flying across the field at Illidan, instantly striking him and making him feel slight pain. The female warrior then exploded with one last cry out in pain.
Mai only smiled and said "Since you attacked my Amazoness Swords Woman, her effect kicked in. You take the damage I would have took for the destruction of my monster."
Illidan only flashed a small smile as he put the small pain aside and said "But of course it is. I knew that. Why else do you think I'd send Blade Knight in to fight? He's weaker than Dark Magician of Chaos and stronger than Beta, making him the perfect monster to use in an attack. Now to use my Deck Master's special ability on Blade Knight. Blade Knight, attack her other Amazoness Swords Woman with Silver Blade Strike!" Again the knight quickly crossed the field, and once again the mighty sword that the other Amazon held shattered and the tip struck Illidan, making him grimace with pain again. Still, he let a small smile play upon his lips.
"Now that you're both defenseless, what shall I do? Oh yeah, I know. Dark Magician of Chaos, direct attack Mai's life points now with Chaos Slice!" The mage looked at Mai and then held up his scepter. He made a quick downward motion with it, creating a powerful blade of energy. The blade quickly slammed into Mai, knocking her to her knees. She sat there for a minute, gasping for air.
Slowly, she stood up and asked between gasps "Is… that all… you got?"
Illidan mused in his thoughts then. "Even when she's about to lose, she still has spunk. But who do I go after next. I still have Beta, and I have to finish one of them off, now. If I take out Mai, Joey may make some kind of move on his turn, which is next. If I take out Joey, Mai may try something against Marie. No, I have to take out Joey. It's the better choice. I have no choice but to do it."
"Beta the Magnet Warrior, direct attack Joey's life points now with Magnetic Polarity Punch!" The yellow magnet creature quickly sped towards Joey, arm back and powered up. Joey only closed his eyes and braced himself as the punch made contact, causing him to slide backwards, but he remained standing. His points quickly dropped to zero and his Duel Disk powered down instantly.
Sighing, he said sadly to Mai "Sorry I couldn't hang in there anymore Mai. I hope you win this round. Either way, good luck to you all." With that, Joey slowly walked off the field.
Illidan then turned his attention back to the duel and said "I end my move." (Illidan 2100, Joey 0, Marie 20000, Mai 700)
Marie began to draw, saying "Since Joey is gone now, I can make my move. First, I draw, and then my Mercury's special effect kicks in, allowing me to draw an extra card. Also, I choose to pay the 2000 life points in order to keep Mirror Wall active. Next I set one card face down, and summon The Forgiving Maiden (850/2000) in defense mode." An older like woman in a black dress and odd hat appeared on the field in a sitting position.
"Hysteric Fairy, direct attack Mai's life points with Fairy Beam!" The blue haired angel looked at Mai and released a beam from her eyes, instantly depleting Mai's life points. Mai took the hit head on, but remained standing as her life points hit zero.
She smiled sadly at the two and said "Good duel you two, and good luck on winning this whole duel."
Both nodded to her as Mai slowly then walked off the field.
The judge then stepped up and said "Illidan and Marie have won this round, thus gaining an additional 1000 life points to their current scores. The last team to enter is Yugi Moto and Marik Ishtar. The order shall be Illidan, then Yugi, then Marie, then finally Marik. Duelists entering, please activate your Duel Disks and bring out your Deck Masters. Then draw five new cards. Once you're both done, Illidan, you may begin."
As Yugi stepped onto the field, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle began glowing. With a quick flash, Yami appeared to have taken Yugi's place. The two duelists then took their marks and fired their holo projectors simultaneously. Once they landed and activated, both Duel Disks powered up as they unfolded.
Yami called out "Come forth my Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" A mage in purple robes appeared beside Yami.
Marik quickly said "Reveal yourself my Puppet Master (0/0)!" A horrible looking puppet then appeared beside Marik.
Both then drew their first five cards. Illidan nodded at this and drew his new card.
Realizing he was getting slightly tired from all the action, Illidan knew he had to finish things up fast. "I set one card face down and end my move." (Illidan 3100, Yugi 4000, Marie 19000, Marik 4000)
Yami drew and smirked, saying "It's my move, and I start by playing Cost Down, which lowers the level of the monsters in my hand by two. Of course, I must discard to activate this card, so I send Summoned Skull to the Graveyard. Now I summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode." A girl wearing a skimpy blue and pink outfit and boots appeared on the field. She winked and then spun around, twirling her small scepter.
"Next my Deck Master increases her attack points by 500 points (2500/1700)." The purple robed mage pointed his staff at the female mage and released a blast of energy at her. She bathed in the energy, gladly accepting it. Once the blast was over, her strength increased and she showed she was ready for a fight.
"Now I set three cards face down, and end my move." (Illidan 3100, Yugi 4000, Marie 19000, Marik 4000)
Marie drew her next card and said "My move and I'll start by drawing. Now thanks to my Mercury's special effect, I draw one extra card. Also, I'll continue to pay 2000 life points for Mirror Wall. Next I'll summon Spirit of the Breeze (0/1800) in attack mode." A green skinned fairy with blue hair and golden wings then appeared on the field in a yellow dress.
"Next I'll set one card face down. That shall end my move." (Illidan 3100, Yugi 4000, Marie 17000, Marik 4000)
Marik quickly drew his next card and said "I first summon Revival Jam (1500/500) in defense mode." The small blue plasma monster appeared on the field in a defensive stance.
"Next I'll play the magic card known as Masked Doll. Now I can't be charged for the cost of life points for my own cards. I'll next set two cards face down and end my move." (Illidan 3100, Yugi 4000, Marie 17000, Marik 4000)
Illidan slowly drew his next card and scanned the field. "Yami has three face down cards, while Marik had two face down cards. Marik only has a weaker Revival Jam to block, but it can automatically revive itself. I bet he has Jam Defender as one of the face down cards though."
After a moment longer, Illidan finally made a decision on what to do. "I'm going after Marik. His Winged Dragon of Ra is far more dangerous than Yami's Slifer the Sky Dragon. Now to take down Revival Jam and I know exactly how."
Smiling, he said "I first set one monster in defense, and then switch Beta the Magnet Warrior to defense mode." The yellow magnet creature then crossed its arms and took a defensive stance.
"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Marik's Revival Jam with Chaos Slice!" The mage raised his staff and pointed it straight at the blue plasma monster. In a simple motion, he made a sweeping motion that created an energy blade, which struck the plasma monster head on, making it explode and not leaving a trace of it on the field.
Marik lightly growled at this as Illidan said "Since I used Dark Magician of Chaos, your monster was removed from play. Now I invoke my Deck Master's special ability. Dark Magician of Chaos, direct attack Marik's life points with Chaos Slice!" Raising his staff once more, the mage pointed directly at Marik. He made a sweeping motion, causing a blade of energy to fly straight at Marik.
Marik only smirked at this and said "Not this time Illidan, for I activate the trap card known as Mirror Force, thus destroying your monsters. Say good bye to your favorite monster!" As the wall of multicolored glass raised in front of Marik, but Marie only let out a giggle.
She then said "Sorry to do this to you Marik, but that's not going to work this time. I activate my trap card, Seven Tools of the Bandit! I pay 1000 life points in order to use this trap, which in turn negates your trap card." A Swiss Army knife then appeared and began taking apart the mirrored wall. Finally, the whole wall shattered, leaving Marik wide open. Marik only looked on in shock as the attack came hurtling towards him.
Yami quickly yelled "I'll save you Marik by sending my Dark Magician Girl in to block the attack." The female mage quickly leapt in front of Marik, preparing to block the oncoming attack.
Slightly shocked at this, Illidan said "That was rather foolish Yami, because you'll be wide open in a second."
Smirking, Yami replied "Not really Illidan, because I now activate the magic card known as Magical Hats, hiding my Dark Magician Girl! Now you'll have to guess which hat she's under to attack Marik or me." A hat then materialized over top of the female mage and it then lowered on top of her. Four hats then came from the one, making four new targets. The blade of energy was quickly canceled out as it's target disappeared.
Slightly growling, Illidan said "Dark Magician of Chaos, aim for the second one to the left." The mage flung out another energy blade which struck the hat, slicing it in half, but nothing appeared to be under the hat.
Thinking strategically, Illidan decided to try again with his other monster. "Blade Knight, attack the hat in the middle with Silver Blade Strike!" The knight quickly leapt into action and slashed the middle hat in half, only to reveal another empty hat.
Growling with frustration, Illidan sighed finally and said "I'll have to end my move now." (Illidan 3100, Yugi 4000, Marie 17000, Marik 4000)
Yami drew his next card and said with a smirk "Now that your turn ends, I return the two remaining Magical Hats to my side of the field. I'll now play Monster Reborn, resurrecting my Summoned Skull (2500/1200)!" A powerful monster that looked like bones and a deep hade of pink muscle only made it's appearance on the field. It growled and showed it had an electrical charge within its body.
"That shall end my turn." (Illidan 3700, Yugi 4000, Marie 17000, Marik 4000)
Marie drew her next card and smiled at it. "My move, and first in my Standby Phase, thanks to my Mercury, I get to draw yet another card. Also, I pay the 2000 life points for Mirror Wall. Also, I gain 1000 life points thanks to my Spirit of the Breeze's effect. As long as she's in attack mode, I gain life points. Now to end this duel, once and for all. I activate my Saturn's special effect. By sacrificing her, I can now do damage to both your life points by the difference of my life points and both of your life points. So, 16000-4000 each is equal to 12000 points worth of damage to each of you. Saturn, finish this with Ring of Judgment!"
The purple angel began glowing with power. She continued to glow brighter and brighter as she powered up, growing stronger by the moment as well. At last, she let loose a powerful wave of energy that in a way looked like a ring. The ring hit Marik first, instantly knocking him ground as he cried out in pain. His life points dropped to zero quickly as his Duel disk powered down.
The ring continued on towards Yami, who only smirked. He stood his ground and yelled "I reveal my face down card known as Barrel Behind the Door! This trap takes the damage I'd receive and sends it flying right back at your life points! Say good by to a huge chuck of your life points!" The ring hit a barrier suddenly, and was repelled. The ring was flung hard back at Marie, who screamed in pain as the blast struck her hard. She was knocked into the air and into the back wall of the tower, and fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
Shocked at this, Illidan screamed "NOOO, MARIEEE!"
Marie only laid there, making no movement at all. Illidan began to run towards her when suddenly the judge yelled "You must not leave your position! Do and you'll be disqualified."
With anger seething in his eyes, he glared at the judge. He didn't want to lose, but at the same time, he couldn't just stand there and watch Marie suffer. Marik at this time, slowly stirred and slowly stood up. With difficulty, he limped over to Marie to check on her. Slowly, he rolled her over, checking her vitals and to see if any blood could be seen, but was satisfied that everything was fine.
He weakly said "She's only knocked out, I think. She's still breathing and a nasty bump on her head. We should stop to let her recover…"
"No, the duel must continue till there are Tag Team Champions." came out a commanding voice.
Everyone looked over to see that Gozaburo himself had said this.
Illidan glared at him, anger seething in his eyes, and he spat out "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT WHEN SHE'S HURT LIKE THIS! WE SHOULD STOP AND FINISH LATER, NOT LET HER SUFFER!" He was beyond furious that Gozaburo would even consider letting Marie suffer like she was.
"If you don't want her to suffer, then give up Illidan. Just surrender so that Marik and Yami are declared the winners. It's that easy." Gozaburo said back evilly. He only gave Illidan a smirk that made him much angrier.
Growling, Illidan thought "I swear, if he forces us to continue, I'll make him pay for letting her lie there hurt. I swear he will!"
Illidan gave a worried look over to Marie's unconscious body. Sweat was forming on his brow at the sight of her form. "If I quit, I throw away everything we worked for today and the last nine days. I can't quit now. As bad as I hate to, I can't. But still, I can't allow her to lay there hurt either. No, these titles aren't worth sacrificing Marie's health. I'll just surrender, then I can take her to the infirmary, or have Bakura heal her."
With his eyes closed, he moved his Duel Disk out in front of him. Slowly, he raised his other hand, preparing to cover his Duel Disk with it, which signified surrender. Feeling deep regret, he only thought "I hate to, but I have no choice. I'm so sorry Marie."