Hello once more everyone. Well, first off, let me set some things straight for those who think I'm a Tea-hater.
To start with, no, I don't hate Tea. True, her speeches get annoying from time to time due that they're sometimes placed at bad times or times that she really don't need to make one, but her speeches do have meaning. Next, Tea is a good character overall, and though I grumbled at her misuse of the cards she had in the second duel she was in (the one with Crump in season 3), she is a decent duelist. She's by far better than Tristan at the least (no, I'm not bashing Tristan so everyone knows, lol).
In all, I'm sorry if I did hurt some people's feelings, but it's natural that some characters of shows are not always the favorites. Tea was picked out mostly due that she constantly is giving a speech on friendship, or some other subject. Overall, Tea is a good character, but she's not one of my favorites. Does that mean I should bash her, nah, and I have yet to make one bad comment about her through my story. I think I presented her character as it is in the show for the most part, showing that I have no bias against her. So, again, I apologize to those who dislike me for my comments.
If the comments upset anyone to the point that they wish to no longer read my story, then good luck. Personally, I think it's kind of silly to stop reading a fan fic due to an author's opinion on characters, but that's just me I guess. Lol, I know a few author's who constantly bash Kikyo in the Inuyasha fics I read, whom I don't hate, but don't love either, much like Tea, yet I read it for the fic, not the opinion, and many people still present the character unbiased.
In closing, I again apologize, but if you read a fic whose author hates or doesn't care too deeply for a certain character, there are clearly two choices you can make. A.) Stop reading and say that person is wrong just cause you disagree with them. B.) Continue reading and ignore that author's opinion. If you like a story that much, ignore the author's comments about characters. I've found many a great fics who have very opinionated authors that bash certain characters, but I've still enjoyed their story. At any rate, I leave that choice with you all, the readers. Do as you please, but to me, it's silly to stop reading a story that you love so much just due to one person's stupid opinion. Lol, it's like reading a book you really love halfway through and then hearing the author has gone to prison for something completely stupid and you get mad and quit reading.
Anyways, that is how I see the situation. Either way, I'm fine with it. I love reviews, but as you all know, I'm quite frank and honest with my opinions, so that leaves you the option of taking it or leaving it. I've learned over the years to not care one way or another if my opinion is rejected or not. It comes with the territory of writing I guess.
Ok, now that that's out of the way, time to get to the reviews.
CWATZ: He's in a bit of trouble, that's for sure. Still, Illidan is tough, so maybe he'll make it. Maybe…
Metal Overlord 2.0: Lol, yes, that was a lot of info. Thanks for the comment. I tried to have Bakura last a good bit longer due that he is one of my favorite characters (I like the spirit of the ring actually, but due that he's gone, I'm stuck with his good side, lol). And yes, poor Kaiba. Once again, he failed to beat Illidan, lol.
thehyperactivecow: One word back: Thanks! Lol.
Tomb Robber Vicky: He's fighting hard, that's for sure. It's possible he'll run out of cards, but I don't know. That's one thing I worried about when writing the duel, lol.
Isis the Sphinx: Lol, well done actually. Noa is strong, but is severely thought to be a push over. And yes, I got your pm. I'll get back with you soon, hopefully.
Strawberry Cake: I'm sorry you feel that way, but again, as I said above, I find it rather sad that you'd do that over a simple opinion. As for growing up… Nah, I'll just leave it as it is. I think you can get the idea by the post above.
pink-kiss-candy: Sigh I don't hate Tea. If I hated Tea, I'd have had her thrown off the top of the tower the first day, lol. I'm joking of course. As for the speeches, she gave one like every few episodes throughout the seasons, including one. Shrugs Again, check the top, but I'm sorry if my opinion has hurt your feelings.
Ultimate Legendary Master: It's a possibility that Illidan could deck out. I think I had his deck being like 55 or 60 cards, so that's possible.
Well, that's all the reviews for the day. Again, sorry if anyone thinks my opinions are wrong, and that I'm a Tea-basher. I will say it once more, I don't hate Tea. True that I don't like her as well as some other characters, but still, I don't hate her, nor do I show that I do throughout my story. As I said, if you can't look the other way when reading my comments, then go ahead and don't read. I've yet to hold back my opinions, and I sure as hell won't start now due that people don't like what I have to say. I've always said what I felt/thought, so anyone who hates me for stating my personal opinions on characters, well, you can read or decide like some people to stop reading. Shrugs Either way, it don't matter to me.
At that, I think I'm done for the night. Today (it's 12:57 a.m. here, aka Saturday), I get to see my fiancé once again (I saw her last night), and I see her most of Sunday as well. Happy days… Anyways, I'm done, so enjoy. And remember, I do enjoy reviews, good or bad. I respect people's opinions to the best of my ability, but when you go about with the name calling, I tend to get riled. Ok, enough of that, so enjoy.
Chapter 97
Illidan sat there on one knee for a few moments. He was still gasping for air. Both shots had hit him hard. After having a tough duel earlier in the day with Joey, and then the night before with staying up so late and then having to deal with Gozaburo, he was getting fatigued, and he knew it. "I'm more fatigued than I thought I was. So far I've remained untouched till now. Now that I've been hit, I'm fully aware that I'm starting to give out. I don't know if I can keep this up much longer. I have to, but I don't know if I can make it to the end."
"Illidan, are you going to stay there panting, or are you going to duel? There is some good news at least. I am completely defenseless, so you can take me out if you wish. Come on, try it, you know you want to." taunted Noa.
Illidan glared at Noa's field. "Well, he was halfway truthful. He only has one face down card, so it maybe easy to take him down after all."
With some difficulty, Illidan stood up, but was still shaken. His chest and back ached from where Inaba had hit him. He pushed the pain aside and straightened up and drew his card. He glanced at his Kuriboh and smiled. "It's time I take back control of this duel Noa. First I flip summon my face down Spirit Reaper (300/200) into attack mode." A grim reaper like creature in purple then appeared on the field. It held a scythe, making it's whole image complete.
Noa said "Big deal! That creature is too weak to even affect me."
Smirking at Noa's confidence, Illidan said "Next I activate my XYZ-Dragon Cannon's special ability. I discard Sinister Serpent in order to destroy your face down, so XYZ-Dragon Cannon, use Cannon Burst on that card!" The twin barrels aimed and fired at the face down card.
Noa only smirked at this and said "Well, I can see you're smart enough to notice. Now I activate the trap card known as Physical Double! This trap allows me to summon a token known as Mirage Token. Next, I can transform that token into any monster on your side of the field. And I choose your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" A new three headed dragon appeared on Noa's side of the field. He laughed knowing Illidan was trapped.
Instead of seeing Illidan worrying about the monster, he was smirking. Noa said "Why are you smirking? You should be sweating it out because you have no hope of defeating this creature unless you want to destroy your own dragon."
Lightly laughing, Illidan said "How soon you forget about my XYZ-Dragon Cannon though. I can use its special ability again to take care of this nuisance."
Noa then began to sweat, saying "You lie. You wouldn't…"
Smirking, Illidan said "Oh but I would Noa. Now watch as I discard my Sangan from my hand to destroy your Mirage Token! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, use Cannon Burst on his Mirage Token now!" Again, the twin barrels took aim and fired. The blast struck the fake three headed dragon, easily blowing it away. Noa was now nervous, realizing he was finished.
"Time to wrap things up with you Noa. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, direct attack his life points with Neutron Blast!" The huge three headed dragon powered up and then spat three streams of energy. The three combined into one and struck Noa hard, making him slide backwards quite a ways. Finally, the energy settled and Noa was seen with his arms still out in front of him, defending himself best he could. He was shaking and had wisps of smoke coming off of him. Little sparks of energy could still be seen crawling along his body.
"Now for the finale. XYZ-Dragon Cannon, direct attack with Cannon Firestorm!" Taking aim, the huge machine slowly powered up. Finally, it fired a barrage blasts at Noa, which struck him hard, knocking him back into the corner of the Duel Tower. He fell to the ground with a heavy thump.
Tristan and Duke hurried out as fast as they could to help him back up. They finally arrived and checked Noa out. Noa was already slowly getting up, and motioned to the two to let him be. He wasn't really hurt too badly. He had just had the wind knocked out of him. He slowly stood up on shaky legs. He smiled at Illidan as his Duel Disk powered down. He just simply nodded at Illidan and then passed out.
Luckily Tristan and Duke caught his heavy body before he fell over. The put one of each of his arms around their necks and carried the unconscious boy off the field. They kept complaining about how heavy he was. Something about like he felt like a ton of bricks and was as cold as an ice burg.
The judge then declared Illidan the winner of this round and rewarded him with 1000 life points. He then declared the fifth place duelist will now be in the next round. It was to be Marik Ishtar.
Marik strode in and did as the judge instructed him. He finally activated his Duel Disk and called on his Deck Master.
Smiling, he said "It's time to win this one Puppet Master (0/0)!" The odd looking puppet then appeared beside Marik, screeching as he did so appear. Marik then drew his cards and looked up at Illidan.
With a smile still on his face, he kindly said "Good luck with this duel Illidan, cause you know Ra is waiting for you."
Illidan smiled, knowing very well he could face the God Card. Smirking, he replied with "We'll see. Good luck Marik."
The judge interrupted the two and said "Begin!"
Illidan drew his next card and smiled. It was his Slate Warrior. Seeing how he didn't want to summon anything, he said "I'll end my move." (Illidan 3550, Marik 4000)
Marik nodded and drew his card. A big smirk came across his face, saying "You're finished Illidan. Say good bye to your chances of surviving this duel. I now play the magic card known as Cheerful Coffin, which allows me to discard up to 3 monsters from my hand. So, I discard my Dark Elf (2000/800), Lord Poison (1500/1000), and my Revival Jam (1500/500) to the Graveyard. Now I activate my Deck Master's special ability, allowing me to resurrect all three monsters to the field in defense mode at a cost of 1500 life points. So, return my three monsters!" All three monsters reappeared. First a black haired elf in teal robes and light gold trim on them. Next a brownish creature that looked like a stream of poison and that had razor claws appeared. Finally, the familiar blue plasma monster reappeared in a gush.
"Now you're finished Illidan. I sacrifice all three in order to summon The Winged Dragon of Ra (2000 + 1500 + 1500 5000/800 + 1000 + 500 2300)!" The three monsters flew up into the sky and disappeared. Then suddenly a huge golden orb appeared in the sky. It glowed so brightly that the field was covered in blinding light.
Illidan stared in horror, knowing what this meant business was about to pick up, and in a big way.
"Tremble in fear Illidan, as I prepare to summon the great beast that shall destroy you. Great Beast of the sky please hear my cry, transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. Envelope the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe. Appear in this game as I call your name... Winged Dragon of Ra!" The sphere then began to slowly transform. Huge arms and legs appeared, as the head of a dragon appeared as well. Finally, huge wings formed and the great dragon was formed at long last. It roared with great power, shaking the tower itself.
"It's time to finish this Illidan. And what better way than to win than by wiping out your weakest monster. You should have switched him into defense mode Illidan. Now it's too late."
Illidan knew which monster Marik was going on about. It was Illidan's Spirit Reaper that was still in attack mode. With only a measly 300 attack points against Ra's 5000 attack points, Illidan would easily lose.
"The time has finally come! Winged Dragon of Ra, use your Blaze Cannon to annihilate Illidan's Spirit Reaper!" A huge sphere of fire appeared on the dragon's back. Slowly, the sphere transferred it's energy up two cables that were connected to the great dragon's head. The energy fed directly into it's mouth. After fully powering up, the dragon released a shot of powerful energy straight at the grim reaper creature. The blast flew through the air with incredible speed. Soon, it was only a short distance away.
"IT'S OVER ILLIDAN!" screamed Marik.
Illidan only chuckled at Marik's statement and replied with "Oh really Marik? I discard my Kuriboh from my hand, allowing me to change the damage I'd receive to zero. That means I'm still in this duel!" Marik watched in shock as a protective wall of brown fur balls with purple eyes formed around the grim reaper creature. The energy blast hit the wall hard, blowing every single fur ball upon impact. The only problem was, the blast didn't make it through the wall. After the smoke cleared, there stood the grim reaper creature, as well as Illidan. None of Illidan's life points had been drained.
Smirking at this, Illidan said "By the way, thanks to Spirit Reaper's special effect, he remains on the field, so nice try."
Marik was shocked that he'd made such a bad mistake, especially on his first turn. Sighing, and hoping this wouldn't cost him the duel, he said "I'll end my move. It won't matter though. Ra is stronger than all your monsters on your side of the field Illidan. And don't even think your little Dragon Cannon can take Ra on, cause God Cards too strong for that." (Illidan 3550, Marik 2500)
Illidan drew his next card calmly. He brought it up for a quick glance. It was his Pot of Greed card. Glancing at Marik's field, Illidan slowly began to set up a strategy. "I have Mage Power in my hand, but the problem is Marik could strengthen his God Card as well. Hmm, I could use Mage Power to strengthen Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. At most, I could strengthen it right now by 2000 attack and defense points. That means my dragon would have 6500 attack points. The problem is Marik could use his Deck Master to resurrect his monsters and then sacrifice them to Ra, increasing it's strength to 10000, meaning I'd be out of luck."
Deciding to try his luck with Pot of Greed, he said "Watch this Marik. I first activate my Pot of Greed magic card, allowing me to draw two new cards." Looking at his deck, Illidan silently said in his thoughts "Please Heart of the Cards, guide me. Allow me to draw the cards I need to win this round!"
Illidan closed his eyes and drew. He was running on nothing but faith in order to beat Marik's Ra. He held the two cards in his hand and opened his eyes. He was so surprised to see what he had. "MY EXCHANGE AND UNITED WE STAND! Now I can win this round. I have to be careful though. Even though I have enough cards to power up my dragon, I have to assess how strong his dragon can be. Hmm, if Marik resurrects his three monsters, his God Card will gain 5000 attack points, making it a grand total of 10000 points. But it has another special ability as I remember. He called it Point-to-Point. It transfers his own life points to his dragon's attack points. If he resurrected his three monsters, he'd have only 1000 life points left. That means his God Card would have at most 10999 attack points, seeing how he needs 1 life point to be considered able to continue. That means I need 11000 attack points to beat his God Card and to win the round. Hmm, how many can I muster. Let's see, I can first decide which monster I want to use. I have no choice but to use Seto's dragon. It has 4500 attack points, a very good start. Next I have four face up monsters. That means thanks to United We Stand, I can gain up to 3200 attack points, which raises my dragon's points to 7700. That's not so bad. Then I could follow up with Mage Power. I could set all the cards I have in my hand on the field. That means I'd have 4 total magic and trap, which gives my dragon an additional 2000 attack points, raising it to 9700. But I'm still short. I need more. Hmm, but where do I get more? Wait, my Dark Magician of Chaos! I can use my Deck Master to get him back, and then I get another magic card. That'll be exactly 11000 if I get both! Perfect!"
"Prepare to lose this round Marik." Illidan said boldly.
Marik only laughed, saying "I don't think so Illidan. You have no way to take down my God Card. Ra will tear you up and any plan you try to formulate. Try whatever it is you're scheming, but my Winged Dragon of Ra will conquer you in the end."
Illidan only smirked at Marik's over confidence in his God Card. Smiling, he said "First I play the magic card known as United We Stand, and I'll equip it to my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! This raises the attack and defense points by 800 per a face up monster on my side of the field (7700/7000)." The dragon began to glow with a multicolored glow as it's power rose greatly. It roared, trying to frighten the God Card.
Marik only chuckled, and asked in a mocking tone "Is that all you got Illidan? You're going to lose that battle far before you start it then. Now I activate my Deck Master's special ability, allowing me to give up 1500 life points in order to resurrect three of my monsters in defense mode. So, I give up the life points to bring back Dark Elf (2000/800), Lord Poison (1500/1000), and Revival Jam (1500/500) in defense mode each." The three monsters then reappeared on the field, each taking a position around Ra.
"Now I activate Ra's special ability. I sacrifice all three monsters to increase his strength (5000 + 2000 + 1500 + 1500 10000/2300 + 800 + 1000 + 500 4600)!" The powerful God Card grabbed each monster, easily absorbing their strength. One by one, they were absorbed and Ra's strength increased. Finally, when Ra had 10000 attack points, it roared, declaring it's superiority over Illidan's dragon, which seemed to cower slightly at the mighty God Card's awesome power.
Illidan only smirked at Marik's move, which made Marik ask "Find something funny Illidan? I wouldn't laugh if I was facing the most powerful God Card. Hurry up and finish your move so I can take you out."
Illidan only chuckled, and responded with "You're wrong Marik. I'm far from done. Watch as I set these two cards face down. Next I play the magic card known as Mage Power, and I'll equip it to my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! This card allows me to add 500 additional points to my dragon per every magic or trap card I have on the field. Since I have four, he gains 2000 more points (9700/9000)!" Again, the powerful dragon began to glow with a multicolored light as it's power increased. It roared louder, getting up the nerve to challenge Ra's power.
Marik only laughed and said "Is that all you got Illidan? Your pathetic dragon is still 300 attack points weaker than my God Card!"
Chuckling, Illidan said "You think so huh? Well, watch this. I activate my Deck Master's second special ability. This allows me to pay 1000 life points in order to revive my Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600) to the field!" The powerful black armored mage then remade his entrance to the field.
"That adds an additional 800 points to my dragon now (10500/9800)!" The dragon glowed once again and roared at Ra, showing it had no fear now of the God Card.
Marik only slightly growled in frustration, but Illidan continued on. "Next I return one magic card from my Graveyard thanks to my Dark Magician of Chaos. I'll return my Change of Heart card."
Marik only growled and interrupted with "Well, I see you're serious about challenging my God Card. Now I'll put an end to this by doing the one thing that will keep you from winning. I activate Ra's special ability known as Point-to-Point! This allows me to transfer my life points to Ra's attack points. So, I transfer all but 1 life point to Ra (10999/5599). Try and top that!" Ra only roared with power as it grew stronger once again.
Illidan only smirked and said "You don't get it, do you Marik? I have already won. And it's due to this move. I set one card face down on the field, automatically adding an additional 500 points to my dragon thanks to Mage Power (11000/10300)!" Roaring with the new found power, the three headed dragon glared at the God Card.
Marik suddenly realized he was trapped. He yelled "NO! I'm trapped! You… you lead me into this, didn't you?"
Illidan only smirked and nodded, saying "It's time Ra is destroyed. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his Winged Dragon of Ra with Neutron Blast!" The mighty three headed dragon prepared to fire. Lightening filled the field. All three heads were building up incredible amounts of energy. Finally, the three fired their energy streams, which all collided and formed on huge blast. The blast hurtled towards the golden dragon. The blast struck the powerful golden dragon hard, causing the entire tower to shutter as the blast struck. The blast grinded away on the golden dragon till finally it went straight through it's chest and out his back. The mighty golden dragon screamed out in pain as it came crashing down towards the ground. When it struck the field, the tower shook with great force as the Egyptian God exploded into millions of pieces.
Marik's remaining life point was instantly wiped out and his Duel Disk powered down. He looked in horror as God Card had been defeated. Finally, he gathered up his wits and smiled, and said "Good duel Illidan. You never cease to amaze me. Good luck with the others."
Illidan nodded and replied with "Thanks Marik. Good luck in the final 10-way duel as well." Marik then walked on off the field.