Chapter 94

Once Marie left, Illidan quickly got cleaned up for his duel. After he had showered and ate dinner, he checked his deck. Once satisfied, he headed to the elevator. Surprisingly, he got to ride up alone.

At the top of the tower, Illidan saw the others already there. Everyone had their decks ready and each was ready for a real knock down drag out fight. The crowd had gathered as well, and was ready to see one of the greatest duels ever probably.

Yugi, Joey, Marik, and more of Illidan's friends had gathered together, discussing how they felt about the upcoming duel.

About this time, the judge rose up onto the tower thanks to an elevator near the ring. Soon after, Gozaburo himself rose up in his throne. He grinned evilly, making the others have shivers go down their spines.

The judge strode to the center of the ring and cleared his throat. He then said "Duelists, welcome to the Gauntlet. I'm sure many of you are wondering what this duel will be like. I will explain now. This duel is for the Intercontinental and World Championships. The current champion, Illidan Stormrage, will be the first duelist to compete in this duel. The duel shall go like this: the champion shall enter the duel first. The first opponent he shall face is the tenth place ranked duelist, which happens to be Bandit Keith. Each duelist that enters will start with 4000 life points. Once one of the duelists is defeated, the ninth ranked duelist shall enter. Also, if you win the round, an additional 1000 life points will be added to your total score. If in the event of a draw in a round, the duelists shall draw one card from their deck. The monster with the most stars shall win that round. Also, if a duelist takes control of an opponent's monster during the round, and that opponent is eliminated before the monster is returned, that monster shall remain with the new controller of that card. The rounds shall continue on till there is only one duelist left standing. Do you all understand?"

All ten slowly nodded their heads with understanding.

"So, this duel is like the tag team gauntlet from last night. You duel until no one is left in your way. This will be brutal." thought Illidan.

The judge then made a motion towards the ring. "Will the current champion and tenth ranked duelist now make their way to the dueling ring so we can begin?"

Illidan and Keith then walked into the middle of the ring. The judge said "Now duelists shuffle your decks and move to your places. Once there, activate your Duel Disks and bring out your Deck Masters. Then draw your first five cards. Illidan, since you are the champion, you shall begin this duel."

Illidan nodded to the judge, but heard Keith say "You're going down chump. You and that chumpet may have beaten me last night due to my weak partner, but tonight, you're all mine."

He only laughed at Keith's empty threat. Both shuffled their decks and then headed to their spots on the ring.

Once in position, Illidan took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing himself to become lost in thought. "This is going to be hard. I have to worry about how many turns I waste on people. Waste too many, and I run out of cards to draw in the end. Not to mention, I have to worry about life points. With only 4000 to start with, I could easily get attacked by two or three monsters and lose this duel. I have to keep them up, somehow. Not to mention, I have to be careful on what monsters I summon. I need to get something strong out first, but I can't waste good monsters either. I hope I can do this. No, I have to do this. I know I can do this. I have to win so I can continue marching forward to defeat Gozaburo. If I fail… No, I won't fail! I refuse to leave my friends and loved ones in that kind of danger! I have to win!"

Illidan then opened his dark brown eyes to stare at Keith. Both activated their Duel Disks, each unfolding and powering up. The life point counters then activated.

Taking one last look over at the people he was fighting for, Illidan then looked back at Keith and called out "Come forth my Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!" The large soldier in shiny black armor then appeared, sword and shield in hand.

Keith then called out "Machine King (2200/2000), it's time to rock and roll!" The blue and red machine monster then appeared beside him.

Both then drew their first five cards as they had been instructed.

Illidan soon drew his sixth card and smiled. His hand consisted of Waboku, Scapegoat, Sangan, Spirit Reaper, Change of Heart, and his newly drawn Blade Knight.

Smiling, he said "I'll start things off by summoning my Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack mode." The white knight in a full suit of armor appeared on the field, raising his sword and shield, ready for a fight.

"Next I'll set one card face down, ending my move." (Illidan 4000, Keith 4000)

Keith only smirked at this, and mockingly said "If that's all you got, you're going down chump! Now I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A blue and yellow machine monster then appeared on the field. It had to large gun barrels and seemed to float in mid air.

"Next for the fun part. My Deck Master raises his points by 200 (2000/1700)." The red and blue machine monster's eyes glowed softly with red. A beam fired from them, striking the blue and yellow machine monster. The glow increased the power output of the twin barreled monster.

"X-Head Cannon, attack Illidan's pathetic Blade Knight now with Cannon Blaster!" Both barrels glowed with a power build up. In a single blast, both barrels of the monster fired at the white knight.

Illidan only smirked and said "I activate my trap card, Waboku. Now my monster and my life points are safe for this turn." Three female mages in blue then appeared out in front of the knight. Together, the three put their hands out and stopped the blast from touching the knight.

Keith only growled in frustration and said "I set one card and end my move." (Illidan 4000, Keith 4000)

Illidan drew his next card and gasped. He had just drawn his favorite monster, the monster that had been connected to his soul for millennia's now. It was his Dark Magician of Chaos. Glancing at his field, he realized then he couldn't summon it, just yet, but with some of Keith's help, he could. Smirking, he figured out a way to make it all work out.

Before he could say anything though, Keith yelled in an irritated voice "Are you going to make your move today or not?"

Illidan glanced up at Keith and smiled, replying with "You want me to make my move, then here it is! I play the magic card Change of Heart, allowing me to take control of your X-Head Cannon!" The machine monster then switched sides of the field. It stared at its once former owner.

"Next I'll sacrifice both my Blade Knight and X-Head Cannon in order to summon my favorite monster, and one of my most powerful. I summon Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!" Both monsters disappeared in a ray of light. A pentagram formed on the field at where they once stood. It glowed red as a mage in black armor then appeared in the pentagram. He had blue skin, which gleamed off of it. His eyes were closed, seemingly focusing all his power. Once he fully appeared, he opened his eyes, revealing yellow corneas and red irises. He then swung his staff out into an offensive position.

"Now his special ability kicks in. When summoned, or special summoned, I get to return one magic card from my Graveyard to my hand. So I return my Change of Heart card. Next it's time for you to get a taste of what's to come. Dark Magician of Chaos, direct attack his life points with Chaos Slice!" Swinging his staff, the mage made a downward slicing movement through the air. An energy blade then flew straight out of the staff. It went hurtling across the field and smacked into Keith, making him slide backwards slightly. He grasped his chest, and was growling loudly. Anger could been seen seething from behind the dark sunglasses that he wore.

"I'll end my move by placing one card face down." (Illidan 4000, Keith 1200)

In an angry voice, Keith yelled as he drew "You're going to pay for that you chump! Nobody makes a fool out of Bandit Keith, nobody!" Keith was shaking from his anger. He glared a hole right through Illidan. Finally, Keith settled down and looked at his new card. He gave off one of his famous annoying laughs and looked up at Illidan.

"I'll take you down yet. I'll summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in attack mode." A blue and yellow tank then appeared. It looked more like a small crab in some ways, but it was definitely a tank.

"Time for my Deck Master to pump his points up (1700/1500)!" The blue and red machine monster's eyes glowed again as it fired a laser at the tank. It glowed for a second and then showed a surge of new power.

"Next I play the magic card known as The Cheerful Coffin. This allows me to discard up to three monster cards from my hand, but I'll only discard my Y-Dragon Head to the Graveyard. Next I reveal my face down trap known as Call of the Haunted, and I'll use it to resurrect my Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)!" A red metallic dragon with wings for arms then appeared on the field. Its metallic screech could be heard all around the field.

"It also gains 200 points thanks to my Deck Master (1700/1800)." Again, the blue and red machine monster fired yet another laser, this time at the metallic dragon. It screeched even louder as its power grew.

"Now for the fun part. I play Monster Reborn, allowing me to resurrect my X-Head Cannon (1800/1500). And don't forget, he receives 200 points as well (2000/1700)." The blue and yellow robot then reappeared on the field. It aimed both its barrels at Illidan as it had once before.

"Since I have all three of my monsters on the field, I can now activate their special ability. I remove all three of them in order to fuse them together to form XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600) in attack mode. And don't forget, my new monster gets a power boost too (3000/2800)!" With that the three rolled forward. Slowly, the blue and yellow robot and the red dragon linked up. Then together, they linked up with the blue and yellow tank. Finally, a huge monster remained in place of where three weaker ones had.

"Now I'll use this monster to return the favor that you did me. I activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's special ability. I can discard one card from my hand in order to destroy one card on the field, and I choose your Dark Magician of Chaos. So, now I discard, so say good bye to your monster."

Keith then pointed to the mage. "XYZ-Dragon Cannon, use your Cannon Burst to obliterate that mage!" The powerful machine monster aimed the two cannon barrels at the mage. In a flash, a blast was fired, instantly destroying the powerful mage.

Keith laughed manically, saying "Now you have nothing to hide behind Illidan! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, direct attack his life points with Cannon Firestorm!" All of the large machines weapons fired in a blaze.

As the blasts neared, Illidan smiled and said "I don't think so Keith. If you weren't so blind, you'd have noticed I set a card on the field. I activate the magic card Scapegoat, bringing forth four Scapegoat Tokens to defend me (0/0), each in defense mode." A rainbow of four goats then appeared. Each had a smile on their face.

Growling, Keith pointed to a goat and said "Destroy that goat!" The barrage of weapons pummeled the poor blue goat into nothingness.

"I'll end my move at that. You're going to be finished soon enough though Illidan. Trust me, you will be." (Illidan 4000, Keith 1200)

Illidan then drew his next card to see it was his Sinister Serpent. Smirking, he said "It's over for you now Keith. You just sealed your fate last turn."

Keith looked at Illidan puzzled and laughed, replying with "Don't you see that I have a powerful monster out you chump? What are you going to do, try to get me to say I give up, because I refuse to lose to you again."

Illidan only smirked and said "I warned you at least. Now I play the card that shall seal your fate. I play Change of Heart and take control of your XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Suddenly Keith's large monster switched sides of the field. The switch of sides did lower its attack points due that it was no longer under Keith's Deck Master's jurisdiction. Sweat started appearing on Keith's brow.

"It's over now Keith! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, direct attack his life points with Cannon Firestorm!" The powerful machine powered up and turned its weapons towards Keith. In a brilliant display of light, Keith was blasted hard, knocking his points to zero. He was knocked to the floor by the blast, but growled as he laid there. After the smoke cleared from the blast, he slowly stood up.

In full anger, he yelled "That's the last time you make a fool of me you chump! Mark my words, in the 10-way duel, YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"

Keith slowly limped off the field after that display of anger. The judge soon raised his arm, saying "Illidan Stormrage is the winner of this round. He now adds 1000 life points to his total score. The next duelist to enter is Mai Valentine."

Mai slowly walked from where she had been leaning up against the wall towards Illidan. She made it to her mark and smiled at Illidan.

"Miss Valentine, shuffle your deck and then activate your Duel Disk. Then proceed to bring out your Deck Master. Finally, draw your first five cards after that. Once she is finished, you may take your turn Illidan. Remember, you can not attack her on your first turn. She may attack, but you cannot." commanded the judge.

Mai glanced up at Illidan and smiled, saying "Well hun, let's see what you can do."

She shuffled her deck quickly and placed it in the deck slot. Then her Duel Disk unfolded and activated. "It's time to win this one Amazoness Paladin (1700/300)!" The powerful Amazon then appeared beside of Mai. She had her sword's point resting on the ground while she held the hilt. Mai proceeded to draw five cards and then nodded.

Nodding back, Illidan said "Then let's do this Mai."