Hey there once again everyone! My week has been decent so far. Since Monday, I've been helping my dad out on the farm, which hasn't been too bad. We've been cutting our hay, which is nearly done now. We're finishing up my Grandmother's farm and about to move over to my father's place to wrap up for the year. Eh, I can't wait till we're done in a lot of ways, lol. It's not hard work, but it separates me from my mate in the evenings she's off, which I hate, and she hates even more I think, lol. Next week we'll be done, so I guess we can each hold on till then.

Last time, Banner, who is inside of Pharaoh, was discovered. Illidan explained where the Sacred Beast Cards came from, plus told that he sealed them along with the Egyptian God Cards on Duel Academy Island. The cards remain hidden, except for the Sacred Beasts, which were found the previous year. Now that those facts are known, what will happen next? And the major question is, can Illidan and Marie keep from killing Banner if he does anything perverted again?

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

Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks. Yeah, I thought I'd throw in the origins of the Sacred Beast Cards since they were never really explained in the show. Heh, yes, Banner is a bit different in my story than the show. Eh, it adds a little flare to him, lol. Cool that you tried to get everything ready for school. I remember I used to just randomly pick up things and get them ready like a day before, lol.

Isis the Sphinx: Lol, pervert infestation. Nice word choice. Uh… Don't tempt her to use that. She can use any item as a weapon already. She don't need a good weapon at that, lol.

Metal Overlord 2.0: Very true, it's a side of Banner no one saw in the show. I kind of just added it, lol. Lol, true, I'm having a lot of fun with the plot holes the show left to fill in. Thanks for your comments. Heh, I thought about adding those cards, but I figured I better not. I stuck with my original duel I wrote up instead. Thanks about my idea on the creation of the Sacred Beast Cards. The show just never said how they got created, so I made up my own version. Heh, the fourth blank slab, yes, that's very interesting. One could only wonder what was contained within it. Yep, there will be more on that slab later on. Thanks again for your comments.

ardee: In terms, currently, with Yami gone, Illidan is strongest person left with Shadow Powers. The others, Marie, Seto, etc, that I made mention of in my one-shot prior to this story, got nearly equal amounts of Shadow Powers. They're a bit weaker than Illidan, but not too much I suppose. As for in the past, Yami was stronger in the end. When Illidan returned from training back in ancient times, when he was sixteen that is, he was far stronger than Yami, but Yami trained on while Illidan trained Marie. Hence, Yami got to face tougher foes and kept getting stronger while Illidan didn't increase that much. Before his death, Yami was a bit stronger than Illidan, but not by much. Seto/Set were nearly as strong as Illidan, but not quite. As for Marie, she was pretty strong, but without her hidden powers, she was somewhat weaker than the others. With her hidden powers, she could clobber all of the others easily. I hope that helps explain that.

Now, for your other review. Thanks, I know, the ending was a cute one, lol. Heh, true, you'd think Banner would have learned his lesson and not want to be carried by Marie, but the man can't help it I suppose, lol. Hehe, it cost 4 grand you say for your injuries? Just be glad you don't have to live through that kind of pain all the time… (/Hears a feral growl coming from Marie. Nervously laughs.\) Now, now Marie, I didn't mean that. I mean it's wonderful to live with such a wonderful half demon like yourself. (/She just smirks.\) Yes, she's a half cat demon. I thought about not following the Sacred Beasts name, but eh, I figured I'd explain why they have that name later on. Their new name was given by someone who had them long ago, but their old name stuck instead. Yes, the God Cards are buried on the island also. Hmm, I don't know about Illidan using the God Cards against the Beast Cards, but anything is possible, hehe. True, it would be nice to see a duel like that in the anime, but it'll never happen. As for the villain, we'll see. Could be, or might not be. I know, nice mysterious answer, lol.

x-knight20: Thanks. Yep, that's how the Sacred Beasts and the Egyptian Gods got to the island. Lol, yes, definitely a cat flambeau if Banner isn't careful.

Alright, that's it for me this week. Hopefully, if all goes well, by the end of next week, I'll be able to wrap this story's ending up and be able to begin posting 3 chapters a week. Once I do, I have a handful of fan fics I wish to write on, like 3 or 4, then I have my Inuyasha story, Another, to work on. Sheesh, I'm going to be so busy, lol.

At any rate, I hope you guys have a good weekend. I look forward to reading the reviews. Till next time, enjoy everyone!

Chapter 19

The remainder of the day was uneventful, with Banner behaving himself quite well. Illidan and Marie had no trouble at all that night also.

The next day, classes slowly passed. Illidan taught his class as scheduled, as did Marie. That afternoon, the two met together, preparing for their joint class.

Students soon filled the small room, and class was ready to begin. Both Illidan and Marie smiled at the turn out. There was a mixture of first, second, and third year students, as well as a mixture of dorms.

"Welcome to Tag Team Dueling class. We need everyone to fill out some information cards to begin with." Illidan announced.

Once the cards were collected, he said "Thank you for filling those out. So, to begin with, can anyone tell me about tag team dueling?"

Mariah instantly raised her arm, along with a few other students. Illidan noted that one Ra student, a second year one at that had raised his hand as quickly as Mariah. The student had black hair that was well kept up and had silver eyes. His pale yellow blazer covered a green undershirt.

"Jaden, how about you? Can you explain what tag team dueling is?" Marie asked softly.

Thinking for a moment, Jaden replied "That's an easy one. Tag team dueling is where four people duel, with two on two action. You can help your partner through spell, trap, and monsters. Basically, you can sacrifice your partner's monster for your own creatures. Also, each team has 8,000 life points to start with. That way both team members are eliminated at once."

Smiling, Illidan nodded, saying "Correct Jaden. That is the basis of tag team dueling. Also, in order to win duels, you and your teammate must work together. The most famous tag team that I know of that had their differences, but pulled it together in duels was Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba. They were sworn enemies in singles action, but when put on a team together, the two worked together rather well."

The group all nodded, and Illidan continued with "During the next two weeks, we're going to begin with the basics. After two weeks, we'll start pairing up teams. By the way, we are the ones who will select your teammates."

Turning to Marie, he asked "Marie, do you have anything else?"

Clearing her throat, she said "Tag team dueling is really fun, but as Illidan said, you and your partner have to find some way to get along through the duel. I've seen teams that meshed together really well, and other teams that blew up in the middle of a duel."

"Also, I should tell you all, in a month, we'll begin a tag team tournament. In it, the newly created tag teams will compete. Since there are thirty-two of you in this class, there will be sixteen teams competing, meaning there will be five rounds…"

"Five?" voiced a few students.

Smiling, Marie replied "Yes, five. There will be four rounds where each of you will compete with your peers. The fifth and final round will be against former Pro League Tag Team Champions."

Everyone seemed to gasp, as Jaden excitedly said "Alright! Now that's what I call a prize!"

Lightly chuckling, Illidan said "Actually Jaden, there is a real prize. Defeat the former champs and the team not only gets a high grade, but also they are exempt from the remainder of the class, if they so choose."

"Sounds like a good prize. I hope some slacker of a partner don't slow me down." Chazz commented.

Smirking at Chazz's remark, Marie said "Of course, there is a something for you all to remember. The cohesion of the team and overall performance is what counts mostly for your grade. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's just how well you and your teammate did as a team. Although, the more wins you have, the better it will look on your final grade, but theoretically, a team that lost the first round could have the same grade as a team who lost in the third round."

All of the students nodded, causing both Illidan and Marie to smile. "That's all I have for now. Illidan, do you have anything else to add?"

Looking over at Marie, Illidan turned back to the crowd and said "My advice to all of you when you're paired up, try and get along with your teammate. Cohesion and teamwork is the only way to win a tag duel. Not one person alone can win a tag duel. Both have to work together in order to win."

Taking a moment to pause, Illidan then added "That is all I have as well. Any questions?"

No one raised their hands or asked a question, so Illidan said "Alright, then we're finished for today. We'll start Thursday on the basics. Later."

The students slowly left the room, leaving only Illidan and Marie. "That went rather well, don't you think?"

Smiling at Marie, Illidan nodded, saying "Yeah, it did. I think it'll be interesting to see how things turn out."

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That afternoon, a meeting was called for all the headmasters and student teachers. All of the staff sat around a large table, softly talking to one another. The Chancellor finally walked in, causing the room to quiet down.

Taking his seat, the Chancellor said "Thank you for coming here today. I know each of you have busy schedules, but I thought we should discuss something that I have planned."

All nodded, and the Chancellor continued with "This year, our sponsor has asked us to hold a new event. It consists of pitting all of the dorms against one another."

Part of the headmasters gasped, while a few smugly looked on. Breaking the silence, Crowler squawked arrogantly "There is really no need to have the event Chancellor. After all, my Obelisk Blue's would trounce both the Red and Yellow dorms."

"If you're so confident, then why not hold the event?" Illidan quickly retorted.

Bristling up, Crowler loudly yelled "The Blue Dorm can annihilate the Red Dorm any day of the week, including the Yellow Dorm!"

Lightly chuckling, Illidan smugly replied "Just like how you annihilated me and Curry Mask Sunday night?"

Growling loudly, Crowler prepared to say something, when the Chancellor interrupted with "Enough! Dr. Crowler, you should know by now it doesn't matter what color your jacket is. Experience from last year shows us that colors and rankings aren't everything."

"Humph…" was all that came out of Crowler as he folded his arms and looked away.

Turning to Illidan, Chancellor Shepherd said "And as for you, you are semi right about all the students deserve a chance to prove themselves. I think all of us saw this past weekend that leadership roles are important in spurring on our students."

Calming down, Shepherd added "Now then, I shall explain the rules. They are mostly simple. The students will constantly throughout the year compete in small tournaments, along with other events, in order to gain points. Each time a student defeats a rival dorm member, the student's dorm will receive five points."

Taking a sip of water that was on the table, the Chancellor stopped and finally put down his cup, continuing with "Of course, there are penalties as well. Each time students are in trouble, pending on the severity of the crime, points will be deducted. An example would be if they snuck out past curfew and were caught. The punishment would be a deduction of at least five points, if not ten or more."

All nodded, causing Shepherd to say "At the end of the year, the points will be racked up. Students who did exceptionally this year will be rewarded by me personally. The amount of points I will give out is solely based on what the student did. Once the points are counted, the winner will be announced and proclaimed the best dorm on Duel Academy Island!"

"Also, I should tell you all, the dorm that does win, will be rewarded. The students and headmasters, along with the student teachers, will be sent on a vacation to the Bahamas for two weeks."

Everyone's eyes grew sparkly at the mention of a vacation. Seeing the happy faces, Shepherd said "Oh yeah, one more thing. There will also be teacher competitions during the year also."

Everybody snapped out of their daze to look at the Chancellor. Crowler quickly squawked "What kind of competitions?!"

Lightly chuckling, Chancellor Shepherd replied "A series of duels and tournaments. I am setting up two random duels on Saturday and Sunday."

"So, it could be anyone against anyone?" Marie softly asked.

Nodding, Shepherd quickly replied "Yes. It could be a Slifer Red vs. Slifer Red, or even Obelisk Blue vs. Obelisk Blue. In any case, it will be random, and should help the students really get motivated for this year's event."

Taking a moment, Shepherd smiled, saying "Ah yes, one last thing. There will be a teacher's tournament held during the fall. It will be each and every teacher going head to head. I will name the sixteen teachers to compete later, most likely around the time the competition will begin."

"This will be a cinch!" Bonaparte boldly boasted.

With a half smile, Marie silently commented "I wouldn't count on it."

After a few moments of noticing the happy and excited faces, Chancellor Shepherd said "I will make the official announcement of the event tomorrow night."

Standing, Shepherd added "I look forward to this year long event. I think it will truly prove the worth of the students in each dorm. That is all, and I'll say this as you leave. May the best dorm win!"

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"Do you think the students will be more motivated to succeed with this year long event?" Zane asked aloud, breaking the silence that had descended on the three Slifer teachers as they headed back for the dorm.

Taking a moment to answer, Illidan finally replied "I do think it will help motivate them some. I know a few that will be more than likely extremely excited, and want to take this year long event to the maximum. But I have a feeling some will still not be completely convinced that our dorm can win."

"Yeah, and those who are unconvinced will be the ones who may bring the dorm down in the contest." Marie added with a deep sigh.

Both Illidan and Zane nodded and sighed themselves, causing the entire group to stop and look down. Looking up to the sky, Illidan smiled, saying "Still, I think that the Slifer Dorm has as good a chance as anyone else. All we have to do is encourage them and help them believe that there is a chance that we can win."

Smiling up at Illidan, Zane replied "Well put Illidan."

Lightly hugging Illidan, Marie added "So true."

Turning loose, Illidan looked back at the two and said "Together, we'll lead the Slifer Dorm to victory. I know it. We just have to stay together and believe in our students."

Putting his hand out, Illidan asked "Are you both with me?"

Smiling, Marie placed her hand on top of Illidan's, saying "I'll always be with you. I know we can do this!"

Zane gave a small smile, saying "I am with you both. The three of us can lead this dorm and show that it's not full of slackers!"

Lightly chuckling, Illidan said "Then it's agreed. We will lead this dorm forward, and show that it has something to prove. Win or lose, we'll do the best we can!"

The three pulled back their hands and turned back towards the path. Together, the three headed back to the Slifer Dorm, each feeling confident that they could empower their students to win the year long event.

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The remainder of the week quickly flew by. Chancellor Shepherd made his announcement as promised on Wednesday night.

All of the students were shocked and excited by it, with Jaden yelling out loud "LET'S GET OUR GAME ON SLIFER DORM!"

After the announcements, things continued on normal for the rest of the week. Pharaoh, whom was Banner actually, behaved well around Marie. He also wondered around the dorms like in the previous years, and the students that knew him welcomed him.

Classes had gone over well also, making the week fly by much quicker than many figured. Illidan and Marie had been proud of making it through the week, and that their students did seem quite up to the challenge of passing their classes, they hoped.

As the three had anticipated, the Slifer students were a bit unsure of how they would do in the year long event, known as the Dorm Cup. Many were wishy-washy about their chances, but Illidan, Marie, and even Zane reassured the students that they could win.

Jaden of course jumped on the bandwagon, declaring immediately that the dorm could win. Chazz only scoffed at the event. Syrus was worried that he'd mess everything up. Roxas had only shrugged it off. Mariah had taken it with enthusiasm that rivaled Jaden's. Ed and Al smirked, each saying they'd make the dorm proud, while Winry commented that they'd more than likely do something to make the Slifer's reputation even worse.

Many of the comments from the students were mixed, but when it was all shaken out, a majority thought the dorm stood a small chance at winning. That fact in itself helped some of the Slifer students settle down.

As the sky was darkening on Saturday evening, both Illidan and Marie were in their house preparing for the duel that night. The duel would be picked at random, so everyone was prepared to duel, just in case.

"I hope it's not me and you going at it." Marie complained loudly as she was looking over her deck.

Without even looking up from his own cards, Illidan replied "It'd be a good duel though."

Stopping, Marie placed her deck on the desk and stood up, stretching and letting off a loud sigh. Turning to Illidan, she said in a whiny voice "But I don't want to fight you again."

Lightly chuckling as he placed his deck back in it's holder, Illidan replied kindly "I know, but if we have to face one another, we have to face one another. At least this time it would be for fun, unlike two other times."

Sadly smiling, Marie walked over and placed a hand on the side of his face, causing him to stop his preparation. Standing up, Illidan looked deep into Marie's chocolate orbs, knowing she felt the same about their past.

"What happened has happened, and it only made us stronger. Don't worry Marie, I never worry about facing you because deep down, I know you'll always know I love you." he kindly said.

Smiling slightly, she leaned into his chest, saying dejectedly "Still, I don't want to face you. I want someone I can beat."

Heartily laughing, Illidan pulled her back, saying "I wouldn't doubt you couldn't beat me. You have before, and I know you could again if it was to happen."

"I guess." she mumbled in reply.

Kissing Marie on the forehead, Illidan said "Now, go on and finish up. It's nearly time to see who will duel. Most likely, it won't be either of us."

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All of the students sat in the auditorium awaiting the duel for the night. Most were excited to see the teachers duel, hoping to see what they could really do.

Sitting with his friends as usual, Jaden waited impatiently for the random draw to begin. "Can't they hurry this up?!" he whined.

Syrus only sighed for the millionth time, saying "Jaden, it'll happen soon."

"Buck up soldier. It won't be long!" replied another boy beside of Syrus. He had six black dread locks of hair sticking out to the side, a yellow bandana that turned brown towards the very front, which had a set of red eyes and a pair of nostrils, and finally some dinosaur like teeth hanging from the rim. The young man was muscular, having well formed biceps. The sleeves of his Ra Yellow jacket were cut off, and he had a large tooth necklace around his neck. His pants were brown, and his undershirt was green. His voice sounded mostly like an army instructors.

"Hasselberry is right Jaden, for once. It won't be much longer." a girl added from behind Jaden. She had mid-back length sandy blonde hair, light brown eyes. She wore an Obelisk Blue uniform that was standard for girls, which consisted of a blouse and skirt.

"Alexis is right Jaden. We can't have you getting bent out of shape just waiting for a duel." another student commented. He had light black hair that wasn't even neck length, silver eyes, and wore a Ra Yellow jacket. His undershirt was green, and pants were black. His voice had a bit of a British accent in it as well.

Sighing once more, Jaden replied "I know Bastion, but it's hard to wait."

The whole group lightly chuckled at their friend's predicament, but each were a bit excited as well.

On the stage, all of the teachers stood with Duel Disks ready. The announcement to who would duel was moments away, and the students, along with all the teachers, were growing restless.

"I'm glad to see everyone here tonight." announced Chancellor Shepherd as he took the stage.

The entire crowd, along with the teachers, turned their complete attention onto him. Smiling, he said "Welcome to tonight's festivities. I'm sure everyone, much like me, are excited about who could be dueling tonight. Well, without any further ado, I think it's time to get this duel on the road."

Pointing to the screen that was behind the field, Shepherd said "This duel will be done by random drawing. Watch carefully, because you never know who may duel."

Snapping his fingers, he bellowed "Begin the selection!"

The screen blinked to life as three spaces appeared on it. The middle space had the word "Vs." The top and bottom spaces had names that were randomly coming up. After a minute, the random names stopped, and two names were displayed.

The crowd lightly gasped, as did the teachers. Smiling, Chancellor Shepherd said "The two duelists have been picked. It will be Professor Izumi Triune vs. Professor Marie Stormrage!"

Both Izumi and Marie stepped out of the crowd to the front of the Chancellor. Each smiled, with the Chancellor saying "Alright, the rest of the teachers may now leave the dueling platform!"

Before leaving the platform, Illidan gave Marie a small peck on the check, saying "Good luck."

She simply replied "Thanks."

Everyone was soon off the stage, with exception of the Chancellor, Izumi, and Marie. Seeing they were finally left alone, Shepherd said "Now you two, you know the rules. Izumi, since you were picked first, you have choice of who goes."

Without thinking, Izumi said "Marie may go."

"Very well, Marie you will be first. You may begin whenever you're ready!" the Chancellor stated as he left the stage.

Both activated their Duel Disks simultaneously, each saying "Game on!"