Hello everyone! Well, it's a new day, with new fun, lol. Actually, today is pretty cool. One of the owners of the company I work for, and the guy that is over us that is in Washington, DC, is coming down for a half of day of fun. We get one a year, and ours happens to be today, so yay, lol. Other than that, I've been hard at work on stuff still. I've got so much stuff backing up here at work, yet it's not due to me somewhat, lol. (/sighs\) I'll finish it up though.

Last time, Illidan, Curry Mask, and Crowler began their three way duel with Crowler not faring too well so far. Still, it's early in the duel, but who will come out on top?

Alright, it's time once more! That's right, it's review time!

Ultimate Legendary Master: Lol, thanks. True, I didn't notice that about Buster Blader till you mentioned it. I guess I was thinking Dark Paladin's effect still. Oh well, it'll work out. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

x-knight20: Lol, glad you're still alive. Yep, Illidan's facing a cross dresser and a cook with a paper bag on his head. Life is just great for him, lol. Seto probably found them in a catalog, knowing him. Probably the same one Pegasus used to use for his hired hands. Hasselberry might be. Wait and see, lol. As for the Light of Ruin, never know. Illidan fight all four Egyptian Gods!? Never! Well, possibly never, lol. Glad to see you don't have too much brain damage. Just never mention her cooking again and you'll be alright. (/Pats you on the back, only to hear something crack.\) Eh, you're very breakable.

ardee: Lol, possibly he'll summon Ultimate Chocolate Cake Dragon of Doomed Ice-Cream and Salad God Knight. Thanks for the dueling comment. Yep, Jaden is Illidan's descendant. Heh, I wouldn't include the GX crew if they didn't have some part to play. Never know about Crowler. He could hang on and win it all! In his dreams at least, lol. Heh, I'm not worried about the bobcat if it was a half demon or demon. Either one should watch out for this half dog demon. (/Watches anime flames coming off of Marie grow larger. She sprints forward and smashes the shield with her fist.\) I think you're going to need a bigger shield, and a doctor…

Isis the Sphinx: Lol, yes, a normal chapter with a duel. Heh, Illidan would attack anyone in a duel. Don't matter who you are, except maybe Marie unless it's one on one.

Alright, that's it for me today. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you all for your reviews so far. They're very helpful and inspiring. Later!

Chapter 16

Glaring at Curry Mask and next Illidan, Crowler drew his next card, squawking "You two shall pay dearly for your last attacks on me! I first activate my Ancient Gear's special ability. While it's on the field, I may special summon another Ancient Gear from my hand. And I happen to have another right here!"

Crowler quickly drew the card from his hand with quick movements and slapped it to his Duel Disk. Another gear structure was erected, taking up a position beside it's twin.

"I sacrifice both in order to summon your worst nightmare, my Ancient Gear Golem (3000 + 300 3300/3000)!"

Both gear creatures vanished in a flash of light. A large, tall gear monster composed of many gears and dull grey metal rose up from the ground. It's right eye flashed red as it finally made it to it's full height.

Chuckling manically, Crowler pointed at Curry Mask, screaming "Go Ancient Gear Golem, crush that onion with Mechanized Melee!"

Following the orders of it's master, the large creatures gears began to grind away at a high rate of speed. Reaching it's right arm back as it prepared to fight, the creature made a large mechanical moan. With what looked like ease, the machine behemoth launched it's right arm forward, throwing a fist straight at the onion, which was easily crushed under the weight of the blast, with the pieces of it flying into the large pot.

Laughing still, Crowler soon said "By the way, when Ancient Gear Golem attacks, the difference in his attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt directly to your life points!"

Curry Mask had little time to gasp as the blast went through his onion and struck him hard, knocking him backwards. He managed to stay standing, but was quite shaken.

After a moment, he straightened himself and walked back to his position, but lightly chuckled. Growing annoyed, Crowler yelled "What are you chuckling about!?"

Still chuckling, Curry Mask placed his hands on his hips, saying "You made a major mistake there señor. You see, you have just activated my Curry Pot's special ability. When Carrotman, Potatoman, and Onionman are all three removed from play, I can use it's first effect to destroy all monsters on the field. So, say farewell to your monsters, cause they're about to become a part of my stew!"

The monsters on the field all suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, only to be replaced by large pieces of meet. The new pieces of meet instantly flew into the boiling pot, which seemed to boil even more.

All Crowler and Illidan could do was angrily growl at the loss of their monsters, but Curry Mask smirked. "I'm not finished, for there is another effect to my Curry Pot! Now I can special summon a new monster, who is the master piece of my deck! Welcome the mighty cook known as Curry Fiend (?/?)!"

Appearing onto the field in a puff of smoke, a monster with a large spoon staff in his oven mitt gloved right hand, a rice cooking pot in his oven mitt gloved left hand, a large chef's hat on his head, a red flowing cape on his back, plate shoulder pads, fork feet, a carrot goatee, onion belt, and white metallic body.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING!?" squawked Crowler in complete surprise.

Chuckling, Curry Mask replied "He is Curry Fiend, and is here to serve a healthy heaping of defeat to both of you!"

Glancing at the monster's stat bar, Illidan calmly stated "He has zero points though."

Nodding, Curry Mask quickly replied "True, but his effect now kicks in! You see, for each and every card in my Graveyard with the word 'Spice' in it, my monster gains 200 points. Right now, I have four 'Spice' cards in my Graveyard, granting my monster an additional 800 points (0 + 200 4 800/0 + 200 4 800)!"

The chef like monster glowed slightly red as it's energy increased. Smiling at the results, Curry Mask continued saying "For his next effect, he now gains 300 points for each and every monster in the removed from play pile! That means everyone's removed from play pile that is!"

Everyone, including Crowler and Illidan, gasped at the news of the monster's effect. Marie slightly sweated, saying under her breath "That means that thing can take either of the two out!"

"First, I count all the monsters I have lost. There was Potatoman, Carrotman, Onionman, and finally, Jerry Beans Man. That's four monsters, meaning Curry Fiend gains another 1200 points (800 + 300 4 2000/800 + 300 4 2000)!"

Once again, the chef like monster glowed red as it's strength increased. Still smirking, Curry Mask added "Next, the monsters in Señor Crowler's pile are added, so let's do a quick run down. He had two Ancient Gear Soldiers, along with two Ancient Gears, and finally an Ancient Gear Golem, which counts for five monsters! Thanks to those five, Curry Fiend now gains 1500 more points (2000 + 300 5 3500/2000 + 300 5 3500)!"

Again, the chef like monster glowed red as it became even stronger than before. Pointing a finger at Illidan, Curry Fiend arrogantly said "And now Señor Stormrage, your three monsters, Skilled White Magician, Buster Blader, and Luster Dragon, give my Curry Fiend 900 more points (3500 + 900 4400/3500 + 900 4400)!"

Glowing red once more, the chef monster let out a small roar as it's power reached maximum. The crowd, along with Crowler and Illidan, saw that the monster now had the points to wipe out one person easily.

Sweat formed on Crowler's brow, as he slowly said "Well, so what if your monster is that strong! It's still my turn, so I place one card face down to end my turn." (Crowler 950, Mask 1700, Illidan 4000)

"He can take out either Doctor Crowler or Professor Stormrage with just one shot!" called out a surprised Syrus.

Thinking for a moment, Jaden replied "True Sy, but who says they'll go down that easily. I think Professor Stormrage has a plan. He's not as worried as Doctor Crowler."

Nodding, Syrus looked back at the duel, but like the others, he wasn't too sure. Things didn't seem in the favor of either Crowler or Illidan.

Marie on the other hand was sweating at the stats of the new creature on the field. "With 4400 points, he has a choice of taking out either person. Illidan has the most life points, but he has a face down, which most likely will protect him. Crowler though is faking it I bet. I just hope Illidan knows what he is doing."

Drawing his card, Curry Mask declared "Curry Fiend, let's end Doctor Crowler's duel! Attack him directly with Hot Jambalaya!"

The spoon staff of the chef began to glow as he brought it about and flung hot boiling curry at Crowler. All Crowler could do was howl in pain as the heat was excruciating. At long last, his life points dropped to zero, causing him to fall to his knees.

Standing, the Chancellor said "Doctor Crowler is officially eliminated from this duel. Now only Curry Mask and Professor Stormrage remain!"

Curry Mask only smirked at this, saying "I'll end my move. Next turn, you're going down Señor Stormrage!" (Mask 1700, Illidan 4000)

Showing now signs of worry, Illidan drew, saying "You're wrong! I first summon my Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000) in defense mode!"

A mage with mostly maroon armor and a cape, with gold trim and some blue jewels, appeared onto the field. He had a hood over his head, which covered blue skin. In his hands were a sword and shield, showing he wasn't just a mage, but was also a warrior.

"Since I just summoned Breaker, his effect goes off. He gains one Spell Counter, which raises his attack points by 300 (1600 + 300 1900/1000)."

The blue jewel on the mage's shield began to glow light blue, showing an increase in his power.

Laughing, Curry Mask said "Your mage is of no consequence. Even with his new attack points, he's helpless against my Curry Fiend!"

Smirking, Illidan replied "True, his attack points don't help him since he's in defense mode, but I'm not through! I activate my mage's effect, which allows me to remove his Spell Counter. By doing this, I can now destroy one spell or trap card on the field. And the one I choose is your Curry Pot!"

Standing up, the mage aimed his shield at the large pot on the field. The jewel that was softly glowing blue began glowing brighter as a beam shot from the jewel, striking the large pot. Like a hot knife through butter, the beam shot through the pot, causing it to explode into many pieces.

"Now that your Curry Pot is gone, your monster can't get too much stronger. I'll place a face down card to end." (Mask 1700, Illidan 4000)

Slightly grunting at the loss of his spell card, Curry Mask drew and said "You'll pay for taking out my pot! First, I play the spell card Spell Spice Garam Masala, which allows me to add three new cards to my hand from my deck with the name 'Spice' in it."

Pulling his deck out, Curry Mask looked through it and finally pulled three cards out and replaced his deck in it's slot. "First, I'll switch my Curry Fiend into defense mode."

The large chef monster went to one knee, leaving everyone in the arena raising an eyebrow. Turning all three cards he had just drawn towards Illidan, Curry Mask continued, saying "Next, I play my Spell Spice cards! I play Spell Spice Red Pepper, which raises my monster's attack points by 300 (4400 + 300 4700/4400), but lowers your monster's attack points by 300 (1600 – 300 1300/1000)."

A red glow appeared on the field, strengthening the chef monster on it's knees, while weakening the maroon armor clad mage. "For my next seasoning, I add a pinch of Spell Spice Cinnamon, which switches the modes of both our monsters."

Everyone gasped in shock as both monsters stood up, with each taking an offensive stance. "Finally, to top off the seasonings, I add Spell Spice Caraway! This spice melts away 200 of your life points, while adding 200 points to my score."

Illidan could only watch as a few of his life points were depleted, but remained calm. "He can nickel and dime me all he likes, but if he attacks, he'll hit a nasty surprise."

"Of course, since I just added four new 'Spice' cards to my Graveyard, my fiend grows even stronger (4700 + 200 4 5500/4700 + 200 4 5500)!"

The chef monster once again glowed red as it's power increased, but Curry Mask saw Illidan's calm expression. Smirking, he said "You sure are calm Señor Stormrage, but I think it's time I melt that calmness away. I play the last card in my hand, which happens to be the spell card Heavy Storm! All spell and trap cards are now destroyed, so say farewell to whatever you had planned!"

A large set of twisters formed on the field, each raging towards the two face down cards Illidan had. Seeing this, Illidan called out "Not so fast! I reveal the spell card Magical Hats! Thanks to this card, I get to special summon four Hat Tokens (0/0) to the field. I also get to place my mage within one of them, so now you'll have to guess which one my mage is in.

In a puff of smoke, a black top hat with a yellow ring around the base of it, and a question mark on the main part of the hat appeared above the maroon cloaked mage. The hat slowly lowered over him and expanded into four hats and then back to one, and finally back to four.

Growling in frustration, Curry Mask barked back "Still, your other face down card is gone!"

As he spoke these words, the other twister struck Illidan's face down card, which was quickly revealed to be the trap card Magic Cylinder.

Still calm, Illidan smirked, saying "Well, I may have lost my trap card, but you have to guess where my mage is. Feeling lucky?"

Taking a moment to think, Curry Mask called out "Curry Fiend, attack the hat on the far left now with Hot Jambalaya!"

The spoon of the chef glowed red as hot flames came pouring out the top of it. With ease, the chef flung the contents of flaming sauce straight at the far left hat. The hat was struck easily and went up in a flaming puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the chef had missed his true target as Illidan calmly stood still with all his life points intact.

Growling at his miss, Curry Mask said "You are lucky this time I missed, but next I won't (5500 – 300 5200/5200) (1300 + 300 1600/1000)!" (Mask 1900, Illidan 3800)

Drawing, Illidan calmly looked at his card and let a small smile grace his face. "I'm far from beaten Curry Mask. I sacrifice my Breaker the Magical Warrior in order to summon Cybernetic Magician (2400/1000)!"

The hats all vanished as the maroon clad mage reappeared. He vanished in a beam of light and was replaced by a mage in white-silver trench coat like robes. He had blonde hair with pale skin, and wore a small pointed hat. In his left hand was a small scepter that was short and had a small hook on it.

Curry Mask only laughed and pointed at Illidan, stating "Your monster is weak! It has no chance against my Curry Fiend!"

Calmly, Illidan took the last card he had in his hand and placed it in his Graveyard slot, while slowly saying "True, but points aren't everything. Since I just discarded my Monster Reincarnation to the Graveyard, my mage's effect kicks in. Now my mage can lower the attack points of one monster on the field to 2000, so say goodbye to Curry Fiend's attack points!"

The chef creature groaned as it began to glow light blue. At the same time, the mage was glowing slightly light blue as well. Soon, the chef creature slumped over a bit, showing it's weakening (2000/5200).

"NO!" cried out Curry Mask in shock.

Pointing towards the chef creature, Illidan calmly said "Attack with Cybernetic Scepter Blast!"

Aiming his small staff at the chef like monster, the mage released a sphere of light blue energy. The blast struck the chef, making it cry out in pain as it exploded into millions of pieces.

"Wow, Professor Stormrage just took down that powerful monster!" an excited Syrus called out in the stands.

Chazz slightly nodded, saying "It was a lucky move."

Staring at Illidan, Bastian said "It wasn't luck. He just calmly waited for a chance to fight back."

"Impressive. Even though this is my first time watching him duel, I can tell Illidan is quite the strategist. He was easily outmatched against that monster, but he never panicked. That is the sign of a truly strong duelist." Zane quietly thought.

"Professor Illidan is doing great! If he keeps this up, he'll have this duel in the bag." Jaden said with some excitement in his voice.

Slightly smirking, Illidan said "That does it for me. Looks like I'm not finished yet, don't it?" (Mask 1500, Illidan 3800)

"You bite your tongue!" snarled Curry Mask as he drew. Glancing at his card, he turned it horizontal and said "I play Bean Soldier (1400/1300) in defense mode."

A green bean with two legs with brown boots, and small arms protruding, with one holding a silver sword took the field in a kneeling stance.

"I end my move." (Mask 1500, Illidan 3800)

Glancing at his next card, Illidan said "I move to attack. Cybernetic Magician, take that bean out!"

Pointing his staff at the bean creature, the mage once more released a sphere of light blue energy. The bean cried out in pain as it was smashed easily by the blast and was forced to explode into many pieces.

"Your move." (Mask 1500, Illidan 3800)

Curry Mask lightly chuckled as he drew his next card and examined it. "You're finished Señor Stormrage! I play Monster Reborn, brining back my Curry Fiend (5200/5200)!"

Slowly, the chef creature rose up onto the field once more, letting out a small cry. Seeing the creature rise up, Illidan felt a small bit of sweat roll down his face.

"Curry Fiend, serve up some Hot Jambalaya for that slacker's mage!"

Powering up his spoon with red flames, the chef flung the hot contents straight at the white mage, who held his arms up to shield himself from the heat, but to no avail. Within a second, the mage melted away, sending out a burst of hot flames at Illidan, who shielded himself the best he could from the intense flames.

The blast pushed Illidan backwards, and nearly knocked him to his knees, but he somehow managed to remain standing. Still, he was panting hard, showing that the blast had hit it's mark.

Sneering at the damage, Curry Mask put his hands on his hips and laughed, saying "So much for the mighty Illidan Stormrage. Just one shot of my curry and he's already out of the duel." (Mask 1500, Illidan 1200)

"Oh man, here I thought Professor Illidan was going to win, but now it seems hopeless." commented Syrus.

Still focusing on the battle, Jaden quickly replied with confidence "He's not done yet. Just watch, he'll fight back."

Marie lightly smiled at Jaden's words, but still intently watched the duel. "I know that had to take a lot of the wind out of your sails Illidan, but stay strong. You can do this, I know it!"

Finally slowing his breathing, Illidan stood up straight and took one last deep breath. Drawing his card, he heatedly said "I'm not through yet!"

Looking the card over, he slapped it onto his Duel Disk, saying "I place a monster in defense. Next, I throw down one face down card. That's all." (Mask 1500, Illidan 1200)