Chapter 102

Marie had really hoped that that monster wouldn't be called during the duel, but she knew that Illidan would due that is was a monster that was connected to his very soul. This was the monster that Illidan took the most pride in having in his arsenal. A mage in black armor with blue skin then appeared. He brought his staff forward into an offensive position, seemingly daring any monster to attack him.

"Now my Dark Magician of Chaos, kill that bug." commanded Illidan.

The mage pointed his staff at the brown bug and released a blast of black energy. The blast was pretty good size, and would easily crush the bug.

As the blast hit, she only thought "This is going to hurt."

Again Marie was thrown backwards to the ground like the last attack had done her, but this time she was thrown harder, and she heard something pop on the landing.

Illidan winced at the sight of his student flying backwards and yelled with worry in his voice "MARIE!"

Slowly, Marie opened her eyes and felt pain shooting through her right arm. She realized immediately that it was broken most likely. With her good left arm, she pushed herself back up with her right arm hanging limp. Finally, she stood back up and walked back to where she had been thrown from, showing no signs of quitting.

Illidan saw this and said in a begging tone "Marie, please give up! Just give up; I don't want to have to hurt you again."

She could tell there was great sadness in his voice, and noticed what looked like great concern and worry flashing in his eyes, which was for once readable. He had always kept his emotions hidden from her over the three years of training, and today completely refused to look at her till now.

Gritting her teeth as the pain flared up from her arm again, she yelled with tears in her eyes from the pain, anger and sadness she felt "Well you shouldn't have chosen a monster duel then. I am going to get a place on the Shadow Court, and I'm not letting anyone stop me, not even you Illidan!"

Taking a deep breath and summoning up all her strength, she said "I still have one more monster I can summon. My last choice is Tyrant Dragon!"

Realizing how foolish, if not dangerous, her move was, Illidan yelled "MARIE! NO! YOU'RE TOO WEAK! YOU COULD DIE!"

The rest of the group completely agreed and made motions to stand up. Yami quickly moved to his feet and ran for Marie, hoping to stop her before she could even try to summon the powerful dragon.

Marie paid no attention to Illidan's words though. With her left arm raised above her head, she closed her eyes and yelled "Tyrant Dragon, my strongest monster, come forth!"

She poured out more power than she had ever poured out before, using every bit of it to summon the mighty dragon. Slowly, the form of the powerful dark orange dragon took shape, till finally it appeared with a loud roar. It spread it's large wings out and let out a terrifying roar at the blue skinned mage.

Yami quickly made his way to beside Marie, preparing to use his own power to stop the dragon if it started a rampage. To his amazement, Marie seemed to have full control of the dragon, and he realized something else. Her energy was much different than before. It was at a level, much higher than he imagined she could reach. It was easily competing with his and Illidan's own energy, which was unimaginable.

Illidan noticed this change in her energy as well, realizing that this had been much like the first day he met her when she had been first tested. That day, she had somehow tapped into a deep well of power and sent Illidan flying backwards with one last burst of strength. Over the last three years, he had seen flashes of the energy time and time again, but she never could control it. Now, she seemed to have control and was using it on the mighty dark orange dragon. He smiled inwardly, knowing she had finally mastered the monster she had claimed as her own from long ago.

Marie was too involved in the fight, not to mention she had her eyes closed still yet, to notice the Pharaoh by her side. With calmness in her voice, she said "Now Illidan, if I remember right, my Tyrant Dragon is just a little stronger then your Dark Magician of Chaos. When my dragon attacks, I will win. You have already used up your three monsters. So, Tyrant Dragon, destroy Dark Magician of Chaos!"

Illidan couldn't believe what he was seeing. The dark orange dragon let loose a stream of fire directly at the mage, who smiled and closed his eyes as the blast washed over him. Illidan himself had done the same thing, letting the pain from the loss of his monster hit him head on. He wasn't hurt by the pain, for it wasn't that strong to him at the least. This duel had made him barely break a sweat. Still, he was deeply concerned about the girl he had just faced. He knew it had to have taken everything she had to beat him and then some.

In complete shock, Yami said "Winner of this match is Marie."

Marie's monster began to dissolve as she opened her eyes and looked at Yami with a weak smile. She then said in a near whisper "That was the first time I have ever been able to summon him."

With that said, her eyes rolled back into her head and Marie fell into Yami's arms. She had passed out from complete exhaustion of her mind and body.

The next thing she knew, she was opening one eye to take a look around. After a few moments, she realized she was in her own room. Sighing, she said with a grumble "I'm in too much pain to be dead."

She closed her eye again, but then heard a familiar, but sad voice of Illidan asking "Marie, how are you feeling?"

With a small smile, she weakly joked "Like a couple of monsters decided you use me for a punching bag. What time is it?"

"It's afternoon; you have been knocked out for two days." he responded.

There was a long silence till he finally said in a remorseful tone "I am so sorry Marie. I didn't want to hurt you, I really didn't. It's just I thought that if I challenged you to a Shadow Game with monsters, you would just give up. I should have known you better though, for I'm sure I made you that much more determined to win. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Another long silence followed, and he took the hint, and said "I am sorry. You're mad at me, aren't you?"

In a sad, yet calm tone, she said "Yes, I am."

Sighing, he stood and said "I'll leave then and tell the others you're awake."

Marie rolled over so her back was to the door and facing away from him. When she heard the door open and close, she let herself finally cry. Everything was so wrong at that moment. Illidan didn't believe in her at all, meaning he could never be her suitor now. He didn't even want her on the Shadow Court, which infuriated her even farther and made her cry even harder.

She now had everything she had worked for in her life to get. She was finally free from the bonds of slavery, and was able to protect herself, but still… None of that mattered to her. The things she really wanted were now out of grasp thanks to his selfish pride and attempt to make her lose. She cried even harder, feeling as if she was now lost in the world.

She heard the door open again, thinking it was the others or possibly Yami. In an attempt to stop crying, she failed miserably and realized she couldn't stop. She didn't even try to fight a set of strong arms that pulled her into a sitting position.

Marie had her eyes tightly shut, tears still flowing down her face when she heard a sorrow filled voice say "What's wrong?"

Only then Marie opened her tear filled eyes to look at man before her. It was Illidan again, with a look of concern on his face.

"Where are the others?" she asked between sobs.

"Yami's holding court right now, so he and the others couldn't come. Now, why are you crying? Are you in pain? I can get you something for it if you are." he asked with much worry in his voice.

Sighing, she took a deep breath, realizing if she didn't say this now, she never would be able to. Slowly, she said "I am in pain, but it's not my injuries that are the pain. Why did you do that Illidan? You almost destroyed all I, no we, had worked for, for three years, and for what? Why did you try to stop me from joining?"

The question shocked Illidan, but seemingly hurt him slightly too. Slowly, he replied with kindness in his voice "Because being on the Shadow Court is dangerous. I don't want to you ever get hurt because of that danger."

"Then why did you train me?" she demanded.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and then opened them, seemingly letting his defenses down for the first time. Staring into her eyes, he said "At first because Yami asked me to. After a while… something changed, and I knew that I had to protect you always. I only kept teaching you so I could see you everyday."

Marie looked deeply into his eyes and realized what Illidan was saying and was going to say. How had he hid it from her? It was plainly there in his eyes for all to see. Was it due that he kept on edge all the time, hiding his emotions so well that none could really see into his soul?

Slowly, as he looked deep into her eyes, he said "Marie, I love you."

Marie's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe her ears. He had said the words she had longed to hear. What she had mistaken as hatred or anger was nothing more than him trying to protect her. He didn't want any harm to come to her is why he tried to stop her from joining.

Realizing this, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering "I love you too Illidan."

After a moment, she let go and said "I was crying because I thought you didn't even like me."

He raised his hand up and gently wiped the tears from her eyes, and said "Never once have I not liked you. You were always there for me, and I always tried to be there for you. I think I've been in love with you for quite some time. I'm so sorry you thought I didn't love you. I will always love you forever."

After that declaration, they fell into a deep love that no one could destroy. Within that month, the two were married by Set with Yami as Illidan's Best Man. The day of their wedding, Yami proclaimed them to be his Tomb Keeper's, officially making them his brother and sister.

Those were happy times, but those times didn't last forever. About a year and half later, the Egyptian God's had a rampage on Cairo. It had been caused by a foolish commander in the Egyptian Army who had tried to summon Ra to defeat an invading army, but in turn, Ra brought with him Obelisk and Slifer. The three destroyed the invading army, as well as the Egyptian Army. The rampage was finally put down, but not without bloodshed on the Egyptian Gods parts.

The rampage then triggered a discussion among the Shadow Court to rid Egypt of the Shadow Magic that threatened the very well being of the kingdom. It was then decided that eight items would be created to house the powerful Shadow Magic, one item for each of the Shadow Court members. All was going well till the final item was created. Marie remembered how things had gone so horribly wrong when the last of the Shadow Magic had been sealed away within the Millennium Crown. The power of the crown drove Gozaburo mad, making his feelings of jealousy over Marie a million times worse.

She would never forget the day he betrayed them all, nearly killing everyone, including herself. Eventually, Yami did succumb to death due to the attack Gozaburo had made against him, but the others all lived, but each suffered. Set had lost his right arm to that battle. Bakura's greed and darkness became apparent, probably an after effect of the crown. It would seal the once gentle man's soul's fate. Shadi was made immortal to protect the items for all eternity, while Pegasus had been blinded due to the attack.

Illidan had walked away with only a few scars, mentally he never healed. For years, he blamed himself for the loss of Yami, and still did to her knowledge. Marie luckily escaped with only the small scar on her back from Gozaburo's attack.

Illidan and Marie then lived out a happy life each. They ruled Egypt till their deaths. She had died first, hating to leave Illidan alone to suffer, but she couldn't hold on any longer. Illidan suffered on for a short time, but finally gave out himself due to his own grief from Marie's loss.

Eventually, Egypt faded and was conquered many times. It eventually arose again, but was only a shadow of it's former self.

Both Illidan and Marie were eventually reborn. Both knew from the get go when they saw each other for the first time at the tender age of fifteen, that they seemed destined to be together. They fell in love with one another quickly, and each seemed to know one another very well. It was odd to her and him that they seemed to know each other so well at first, but it didn't bother her too much. Eventually, when they joined this tournament, they figured out why. It was due that they had once been star crossed lovers five thousand years ago, and now had been reborn to fall in love with one another again.

"Hopefully though, this time there won't be another confrontation with Gozaburo. I don't want to lose him…" she softly said as she stared down at Illidan's sleeping form. Tears streamed from her eyes, as she stared at the man she loved with her entire soul.

Yes, he could be pig headed and stubborn sometimes, but she loved him for all that he was. He knew usually when she was sad. He had been able to pick up on most of her moods, and he could always make her happy again. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her and she knew she could always count on him, as well as he knew he could always count on her.

She continued to watch for several hours. At 3 A.M., Bakura returned. He had been gone since 8 P.M., so he had fully recharged his energies. He went to the other side of the bed and began healing Illidan. Slowly, the minor bruises Illidan had on his body disappeared. Finally, Bakura began replenishing Illidan's energy. Painstakingly slowly, Bakura gave all the energy he had. Finally, he finished. He stood and sighed, seeing his friend hadn't awoken yet.

He turned to Marie and sighed again, saying "I guess he needs more rest. He'll be awake sooner or later though. In the mean time, you should get some sleep also Marie."

She turned towards him and replied "No, I'll wait. He'll be up soon, I hope. Anyways, we have the day off today. It'll be alright."

Bakura nodded, knowing she meant it, so he left in silence. Once gone, she continued her watch over Illidan all night, right into morning. At 9 A.M., Illidan slightly stirred. It was slight, but it was a sign that he was probably almost ready to reawaken.

About this time, each duelist was receiving an email to their computers. Each email gave a specific time when they were to meet with Gozaburo to discuss the rules of the final 10-way duel. There was a 30 minute gap between each meeting, so that the duelists could spend the rest of the day preparing for the final duel.

At 9:30, Keith was called first. Once at Gozaburo's door, he kicked it in, nearly knocking it off it's hinges.

In a rough voice, he yelled "What do you want chump?"

Gozaburo glared at the pitiful excuse for a former Intercontinental Champion and said "Take a seat."

Keith roughly dragged a seat out and sat down in it. He then stared at Gozaburo with a burning fury behind his sunglasses. Gozaburo then reached into his desk and pulled out his Millennium Crown.

With a smirk playing upon his face, he asked "Ever seen this before Keith?"

Keith glared at the crown as Gozaburo easily slid it on his head. It bore an ancient eye on it, which Keith instantly recognized as the eye like design from when he faced Pegasus and from when he was taken control by Marik.

Roughly, he said "That's some kind of freaking symbol that was used against me by Marik. Where did you get it you punk!"

Gozaburo was irritated beyond belief by Keith, so he decided to do what he'd originally had planned. He activated the crown and then took control of Keith's mind. Keith yelled out in pain as Gozaburo reached into it and took firm control, forcing Keith to finally relax.

"You will do as I instruct you. We shall crush all of the competitors. Do you understand?" Gozaburo asked.

Keith nodded. His brain was already like mush, so he had no choice. Gozaburo then pointed to the door and instructed Keith with "Return to your room. I will guide you to there. Till tomorrow, my slave."

Keith nodded and left. About 20 or so minutes later, Mai entered. Like Keith, she was taken over. It was a simple task for Gozaburo to control her mind as well.

Seto walked in later with much irritation. Gozaburo watched as his adopted son kicked the door down as he entered. Seto was in one of those moods that no one wanted to mess with him.

He sat down and said roughly "What do you want!"

Gozaburo laughed and grabbed his crown and placed it on his head. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time Seto! Take this!"

Gozaburo then powered up the crown and tried to take control of Seto's mind. Seto screamed out in pain as Gozaburo entered his mind, trying extremely hard to take a firm grasp of it. When he was near, a golden light appeared. There was another Millennium Symbol. This one was powerful and stopped Gozaburo from succeeding. Suddenly, Gozaburo saw an image of the ancient sorcerer known as Set from Egypt. Then Gozaburo was kicked completely out of Seto's mind.

When he was sent back out into the world, Seto had his hands covering his head, still screaming. A trickle of blood was coming out his nose from where he'd concentrated so hard on keeping his mind away from Gozaburo.

During this confrontation, the Millennium Rod had activated. It had prevented Seto's mind from being taken over. Marik realized that the link between Seto and the rod was still not severed.

Back in Gozaburo's office, Gozaburo growled in frustration, knowing he'd failed. Seto slowly stood up, still dizzy from the whole experience. He slowly walked to the door, his steps somewhat fumbling. He finally made it out of the room, leaving an angry Gozaburo. Gozaburo was infuriated that his Millennium Crown had failed to capture Seto's mind.

He sat there and sulked for a while till Bakura came knocking on his door. He looked up and smiled, slamming his crown's power at full force at the boy. Easily, he overpowered Bakura's mind, taking full control. He went to unlock the spirit of the Millennium Ring, but found that he was sealed away, by Illidan's seal no less. He growled in frustration but accepted his next victim.

He now had 3 under his control, and soon many more. One by one, Gozaburo called people in. With difficulty, he took control of Noa's mind. He struggled to take Marik's as well, but succeeded. He was unable to take over Joey's though. Joey's shear willpower overpowered his crown. Joey barely made it out before Gozaburo could react to the shock of not succeeding.

He frowned and then realized Marie was next. He laughed evilly as he knew he would soon have her mind enslaved. Then he'd have her at last. She'd remain totally devoted and loyal as long as he controlled the Millennium Crown.

Back in Illidan's room, Marie sat by Illidan's bed still. She had taken a small nap earlier, but had gotten up to go take a quick shower and to change her clothes. While in her room, she checked her email and found out she had to meet Gozaburo today, like all the others. Illidan was still in no shape to go meet with him, so she figured she'd tell Gozaburo then to let him rest.

She put on an old t-shirt and tight blue jeans, and then went to go check on Illidan. He was still asleep. His Millennium Key was softly glowing, which surprised her.

"That's odd. Why is it glowing?" she asked out loud.

She gently took hold of it, feeling the warmth of it. She tried to sense anything coming out of the key but got nothing. She shrugged and went on making sure Illidan was still asleep.

Finally convinced he was fully asleep yet, she gave him a kiss on the forehead, saying "I love you. Stay strong for me till I get back."

He seemed to stir slightly in his sleep, as if her kiss had slightly awakened his mind. Still, his body slept on. Smiling, she turned and left the one she loved to sleep on.