Hello everyone. Sorry I didn't post last night, but I had a crazy day. Many little things went wrong, and I just had no time to really do it. Needless to say, I was just way too busy and tired to do it. At any rate, thanks for all the comments on the last chapter. Time for me to once more answer some reviews.

Metal Overlord 2.0: Lol, unlikely indeed. Who'd have ever thought Joey, Seto (those two names just don't belong together, lol), Yami, and Illidan would ever team up. I could see three working together, but not the four. A lot of those strategies you speak of sound good. Will they appear? Smiles We'll see, hehe. Btw, the way I done the field cards was only one at a time can be out, so they'd have to share, which sucks, lol. It will be good though, so no worries.

CWATZ: That's no problem. Lol, trust me, I wasn't too worried. I understand people have lives other than to read my story. If my story was all you had to do in life, I'd be afraid. Very afraid… Lol, but no worries. And good luck with your story.

Isis the Sphinx: I know the feeling. My brain was awake Saturday, but barely. It was awake enough to just drive up to see my fiancé.

Tomb Robber Vicky: Yep, they're a team. The plan though, who knows if it'll work. Lol, I figured I'd have Joey think it at least. Actually, I doubt that those two met back then, due that Joey was older in those times. Set was only 8 years old when Joey was killed in the past, so I doubt they saw one another before that. That is a good point though, lol.

pink-kiss-candy: Yes, I made him in-character. I had to, lol. Can't have Kaiba just break down and give in without some kind of incentive, now can I, hehe. Lol, couldn't help but throw that comment in for Joey. Watches Ryou running away as pink-kiss-candy and Brianna pursue him. Ryou: "SOMEONE SAVE ME!"

x-knight20: Lol, indeed he is probably. It'd be like subzero thanks to Kaiba.

Ultimate Legendary Master: It's coming, very soon. Yeah, he agreed, only after getting some kind of compensation. Lol, I meant full proof. Did I say fool? Grumbles at what Gozaburo could be doing… Wait, didn't make it that kind of story. Breathes sigh of relief.

Well, that's all the reviews. To make up for missing a day, I'm posting two chapters today, so enjoy. I'll probably try to get through the ten-way duel this week, and then who knows what else, hehe. Enjoy for now though.

Chapter 107

When morning finally came, Illidan woke up in a sweat. He'd had nightmares again, but this time ones not of his own memories.

This time, they were nightmares of a possible future where Marie was destroyed thanks to him. He shook his mind of these feelings and prepared himself for the duel. Slowly, he got ready to face this duel. He showered and then put on some of his favorite clothes. A pair of jeans that were semi faded and his favorite black shirt. It was the one he'd worn many a times when he'd been out on dates with Marie.

He looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he was ready to face the world. Then he went and ate some breakfast. He had a yummy set of chocolate waffles and some chocolate milk.

Once finished, he prepared himself for the duel. He double checked his deck to make sure that it was in fine order. Then he went online to see if any new surprises had come up. None had been posted, so he started meditating. Like his teacher in ancient times had told him, you must always keep your mind calm in you duels. He slightly remembered his teacher being one of the greatest Shadow Duelists to ever exist. He might have even been more powerful than probably Marie with her power flare ups.

Slowly, he continued to meditate, trying to calm his mind and prepare for what he had to do. The last thing he wanted to do was face Marie and the others, but with Gozaburo pulling the strings, he had no choice. If he didn't face them, they'd remain his for all time, and that was one thing Illidan could not afford to do.

"I have to free them from him. If I can, then at least they'll be better off than being controlled the rest of their lives."

Finally, it was time. Slowly, Illidan strapped on his Duel Disk and then walked towards the elevator. Once there, he waited for a moment. Nobody was there, so he assumed he could just go on up. He boarded and rose to the top. There stood the six beside Gozaburo's throne. In his throne, Gozaburo glared at the remainder of the field. He had his Millennium Crown on his head and had a smug look on his face. All of the six had Millennium Symbols on their heads and their eyes were eerily blurry. Illidan stared in grief at the sight of Marie being held captive. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll set you free Marie. I promise."

Illidan then looked over to see Yugi was waiting for him beside the elevator. Soon enough, Joey and Seto arrived. The crowd was starting to slowly gather as well.

Illidan heard Duke in the crowd blurt out "Why are those six beside Gozaburo's throne?"

Everyone shrugged basically and finally settled down.

The judge then strode onto the field and raised his hand, saying "If I may have your attention please, Mr. Gozaburo will now read the rules to this final 10-way duel."

All ten gathered towards the center of the duel ring.

Then Gozaburo started by saying "Congratulations to all of you. You have each done exceedingly well. And I must say, I'm amazed that Illidan Stormrage has remained undefeated in each of his duels. That is a feat that no one else here has accomplished."

He then began an evil chuckle, knowing Illidan was focusing his attention on Marie instead.

"As you all know, this is the final duel to determine who shall face my associates, as well as me possibly. Also, this duel is for the Intercontinental and World Championships. That means the winner shall be a double champion. Now, I will list the main rules. First of all, like other duels, you may not attack till everyone has had one turn. Next, the starting positions are set up by your ranks. Illidan Stormrage shall be first, followed by Yugi Motto, Marie O'Dell, Joey Wheeler, Marik Ishtar, Noa Kaiba, Bakura Ryou, Seto Kaiba, Mai Valentine, and Bandit Keith. Also, you all shall start out with 4000 life points. You may attack anyone you wish, as well as defend anyone you want. Once you are eliminated, that is it for you. Finally, there are a few other stipulations to this duel."

Gozaburo then began to chuckle. He then continued with "The first new stipulation is that each duelist shall wager one card in this duel."

There was a bit of a shock among the crowd, as well as Illidan, Yugi, Seto, and Joey. The other six remained quiet.

"This card has been pre-selected, so you won't be able to cheat everyone. The winner of this duel shall receive all nine cards."

Illidan gasped slightly. "So, he plans to give the winner some of the best cards from everyone."

"Here are the cards that everyone shall wager. First, Illidan Stormrage shall wager his Dark Magician of Chaos. Yugi Motto shall wager his Slifer the Sky Dragon…"

Yugi was shocked to see his powerful God Card was up to be taken. Silently, Yami communicated to Yugi mentally, saying "So, it's like Battle City again. Hopefully we won't lose our God Card though."

Yugi silently said "Yeah…"

Gozaburo continued with "Marie O'Dell shall wager her Tyrant Dragon. Joey Wheeler will wager his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Marik Ishtar is wagering his Winged Dragon of Ra. Noa Kaiba will wager his Yamata Dragon. Bakura Ryou wagers his Dark Ruler Ha Des. Seto Kaiba shall wager his Obelisk the Tormentor. Mai Valentine wagers her Cyber Harpie Lady. Finally, Bandit Keith will wager Perfect Machine King."

Everyone was shocked at the card list. Each duelist had a powerful card to wager, and each would lose a great card if they lost.

Gozaburo laughed at the confusion on Joey's face. Illidan, Yugi, and Seto remained calm though. The remaining six seemed to be emotionless.

Again, Gozaburo continued on with his speech. "Now for the next stipulation for this duel that will turn your worlds upside down. This stipulation allows you to place this card on top of your deck and you shall draw it as one of your first five cards. That way you can't complain that you didn't have a chance to play your strongest card, muwhahaha!"

This was a small shock to many. "This means we each have our strongest card. That could be trouble due that Marik could easily use his Winged Dragon of Ra against everyone. The same for Keith and his Perfect Machine King since he can use his Deck Master to summon it. I'm not too sure about the others though. This does give Seto an advantage at the least though. Seto can use his Deck Master to continuously summon light attribute monsters, hopefully 3 of them, and then summon Obelisk. We'll just have to see how this plays out."

Gozaburo continued to laugh till he finally brought himself under control. Then an evil look appeared in his eyes, one that would give anybody the creeps. "By the way, there is one last stipulation to this duel." he began with an evil chuckle. Then he stood from his throne and raised his arms into the air. The Millennium Crown then began to glow with power, and he screamed "THIS SHALL BE A SHADOW GAME!"

Suddenly before anyone could react, a huge sphere of blackness formed around the top of the tower. One by one, the crowd disappeared into the darkness. The ten duelists remained on the field, but everyone else but Gozaburo and the judge, who was quite bewildered, was gone. Evil laughter filled the air as Gozaburo could hardly contain himself. His laughter was the only real sound that could be heard. Illidan, Yami, Joey, and Seto looked around, trying to find their friends that had disappeared into the darkness, but it was no use. They were just purely gone.

"MOKUBA!" screamed out Seto, but it was in vain. No one was there. Gozaburo continued to laugh at the four, knowing they had no clue what he'd just done.

"Bring them back right this minute Gozaburo!" demanded Illidan.

Gozaburo just continued his uncontrollable laughter. Then he pointed at the wall of the sphere for the Shadow Realm. There, one by one, reappeared all their friends. Shadi, Tea, Odion, Mokuba, and so on reappeared on the wall. Each was held by arm and leg bindings of darkness, much like how Yugi had been held during the duel with Marik's dark side.

Mokuba screamed out "SETO!"

Seto easily found where he was on the wall and called back "MOKUBA! Hang on, I'll be there as fast as I can!"

At the same time, Tea and the rest of the gang were calling out for Yugi and Joey. Joey started to run towards them when Gozaburo said "Fools, you can't get them down. Have you not yet noticed how high up they are?"

Illidan and Yugi growled, knowing that this was just an elaborate game set up by Gozaburo. Again, Gozaburo chuckled evilly while watching Seto look for a way to get up to his brother. Finally, Seto gave up and glared at Gozaburo.

"RELEASE MY BROTHER NOW YOU SLIME!" snarled Seto.

Gozaburo only laughed at Seto's anger. "Or you'll do what Seto?" replied Gozaburo.

Seto only continued to growl at Gozaburo. In his mind, he was desperately trying to figure out a way to free his brother. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. There stood Illidan, who simply shook his head.

"It's no use Seto. We'll get them back, so don't worry." said Illidan in a calm voice.

Seto seemed to settle slightly, but was still pretty angry. Illidan then stepped towards Gozaburo.

In a voice of steel, he said "Gozaburo, let them go now. They have done nothing to you, and you know that. If you're angry, take it out on me, not them. No one deserves the punishment you're putting them through."

Gozaburo gave an evil look at Illidan and burst out loud laughing again. Finally, he settled and pointed at Illidan. "It is a majority of your fault Illidan. If you'd never had betrayed Gozaburo of the past, none of this would have happened. You should have given in then, but it's far too late for that. Now you, along with all these other fools, shall suffer the consequences."

He smiled evilly at his comment and then continued. "Now, on with the rest of that stipulations. The rules to this Shadow Game are simple. Lose and you'll be hung on this wall like the others. Don't worry though, you won't be banished to the Shadow Realm yet. No, I have plans for the winner of this duel. Soon you shall all see. Yes, very soon, muwhahaha!"

"So, if you lose, you won't be banished to the Shadow Realm. That's a plus at the least. Still, I don't understand what he's trying to do."

Illidan's thoughts were then interrupted as Gozaburo ordered the judge to begin things. The judge nodded and instructed the ten to shuffle their decks, then move to their positions. Each slowly shuffled their decks. Illidan continued to eye Marie. "If it's the last thing I ever do, I'll save her. I won't allow Gozaburo to continue to control her. I promised long ago to always protect her, no matter what, and I intend on keeping my promise."

Finally, everyone finished shuffling. Slowly, one by one, everyone went to their positions. Illidan then called out to Yugi with his mind. Yugi and Yami immediately knew who it was calling out to them and allowed him to do it.

Through their minds, Illidan said "Yami, and Yugi I should say, I'm creating a mental link with you 2 so we can communicate with one another through out this duel. Also, I'm going to erect a mental shield around Seto so Gozaburo can't read his mind. As well, I'll erect a mental link with him also. Do you 2 think you can do the same with Joey? That way we'll all be able to talk with one another."

Sending back a mental message, Yami replied with "Yes, we can do that. We'll build Joey a mental shield and connect with him mentally. Hopefully Gozaburo won't notice though."

Illidan replied with "He shouldn't be able to if we build our links strong. We should be just fine for now."

With that, Yugi nodded at Illidan. He then called out "Yu-Gi-Oh!" The young man then slowly transformed into Yami. Then Illidan and Yami began erecting mental shield for themselves, as well as Joey and Seto.

Finally, Illidan made a mental link with Seto. He called out to Seto with "Seto, can you hear me? It's Illidan."

Illidan looked over at Seto who seemed to be looking around, trying to figure out how Illidan had done it. He called again to Seto through his mind, saying "Seto, don't worry, I created a mental link between us so we can discuss strategy. And before you ask, no, I can't read your thoughts. This link only works when you call out to me or I call out to you. So, no worries about that."

Seto then called back "Fine, whatever. Just make sure you don't slow me down."

Illidan smiled at that response and nodded. At the same time, Yami and Joey had completed their link. Yami then messaged Illidan, saying he'd finished. Slowly, Illidan bridged the gaps and connected all 4 minds together. Now each had a link to one another, so they could call out to whoever they wanted that was in their group.

Finally, they were ready and by this time, the judge gave an order. "Duelists, activate your Duel Disks and bring out your Deck Masters. Then draw your 5 first cards. Once this is done, Illidan shall begin. Good luck."

Everyone then began activating their Duel Disks.

Illidan cried out "Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500), come out and help me win this fight!" The mighty soldier appeared beside Illidan, sword and shield ready for battle.

Yami then said "Dark Magician (2500/2100), come and bring me victory!" The purple robed mage then appeared beside of his master.

Marie, with a controlled look still, called out in a mixed up combo of her and Gozaburo's voices "Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000), help me defeat these fools." The powerful pink skinned angel then appeared beside of Marie.

"Flame Swordsman (1800/1600), it's time we go for the gold!" Joey's red and blue clothed warrior then appeared. His huge sword was resting on his back.

Marik then cried out in a mixed up voice, much like Marie's, "Puppet Master (0/0), help me to win the ultimate prize!" The doll like creature then appeared and screamed out.

Noa, in the odd voice as well, cried out "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000), come out and help me banish these fools!" The mighty blue skinned angel then appeared beside Noa.

Bakura in the same odd voice screamed "Dark Necrofear (2200/2800), help me bring true darkness to these fools!" An odd blue skinned fiend then appeared beside of Bakura.

Seto, in his usual confident voice, cried out "Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650), show these fools your might!" The powerful undersea warrior then appeared, swinging his lance.

In her odd voice, Mai said "Amazoness Paladin (1700/300), help me devastate these fools!" The mighty female warrior appeared with her sword's tip stuck in the ground as usual.

"Now Machine King (2200/2000), come forth and wreak havoc and chaos on these fools!" cried out Keith in his odd voice. His powerful machine then appeared beside of him.

Each now had their Deck Masters out, and as well had 5 cards in their hands. Looking at the field, Illidan drew a deep breath. It was now or never. He had to be extremely careful, but at the same time, had to take the bull by the horns in some ways, but most importantly, he had to try and free all six people from Gozaburo, if not at least free Marie. He knew she was more than likely conscious of what was going on, but she needed help to be freed.

Finally, the judge gave the signal, and all ten said "LET'S DUEL!"