Hey everyone! Well, not much has happened in the last 24 hours. I went home, kind of slept most of the evening, and then finally went to bed. My poor mate, she was so bored last night when I went to sleep. I woke up to find her walking around, seemingly lost and unsure of what to do, lol.

Wow, 2 people guessed the characters from Final Fantasy VIII quickly! Yes, the two remaining ones Marie (she wrote the history part for me originally and picked the three) took from Final Fantasy VIII were Squall Lionheart and Rionoa Heartilly. Squall was Illidan's mentor in the past, and Rionoa was Squall's wife. Thanks for figuring it out you two, and hence the chapter on Thursday will be in your guys honor.

Last time, Illidan's fight with Zell finally began with a hand to hand combat fight. Illidan quickly realized Zell had truly grown stronger than before, and in desperation released a technique meant to kill his opponent called Shadow Blade. At the last moment, Zell dodged and Illidan hit his shoulder, but what now will happen?

Time for some fun reviews!

Metal Overlord 2.0: Lol, yes, no amount of training can overcome arrogance. Thanks about the fighting scenes. I had done a few in TWS, but I thought I'd really go all out for this one. Yes, it did combine elements from both DBZ and Naruto, which I thought helped out. Illidan's two main techniques, Inner Hidden Flame and Shadow Blade each came from the two shows. Inner Hidden Flame was really Goku's Kaioken (sp?) attack combined with the use of chakra from Naruto. As for Shadow Blade, it came solely from Naruto, and you guessed right, it's like Chidori, except it's Illidan style, lol. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Note none of the Yugioh (excluding Yami Marik) or GX (excluding Viper) really ever used physical attributes to fight. Usually, they just let their dueling skills do their fighting. Cool that you're having ideas for how the Sacred Beasts came to be and how they got to Duel Academy. Heh, never know, I may have done the same. Glad you really liked this chapter. I think it was probably one of my better. Thanks again!

Knives91: Lol, yeah, Zell got majorly owned. Thanks for the comments.

Isis the Sphinx: Yeah, I'm sure it really hurt. Heh, with a broken arm, leg, and ribs, Illidan sure has his hands full, and as you stated, nearly no Shadow Powers. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the comments.

Ultimate Legendary Master: LOL! Yes, a bit violent, and I can be that way in my writing. Heh, I'm kind of getting there in my Another story also, lol.

ardee: Yeah, I'm sure it threw everyone that the two would physically fight. Glad you liked it. Yes, the Shadow Blade attack is a bit unorthodox, but rather powerful. Yeah, before, I said for the most part, they used blasts of energy for Shadow Magic, but in this one, I expanded on it. Heh, you did get it right that Squall and Rionoa are in my stories, but they're not Vash and Blue. Lol, my mate chuckled at that, saying they were nearly nothing like Vash and Blue. But you did get the right FF characters, hence you get credit. Yes, he showed his despicable side, but then again, if someone was chocking you out, I think you might attack first, ask questions later. Hmm, Illidan bring out the Gods? Never know… Thanks for the comments.

x-knight20: Thanks. Yep, Zell was truly the power behind the Shadow Riders and Kagemaru. Glad you think this is going to get good. Wow, you got the characters, so like ardee, congrats! I'll post a chapter on Thursday now since you both got it!

Well, that's it for this go around. Congrats again to ardee and x-knight20 for guessing the correct characters. Heh, I could do another question, but eh, I already gave the answer away, lol. Thank you everyone for your comments. I enjoy them very much, and love answering your questions (so long as they don't give away the plot, lol). Again, thank you all, and enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 44

Screaming out in pain, Zell leapt backwards in an attempt to escape. Looking at his shoulder, he saw five bloody holes and a heavily burned mark through his thick robe material. Panting heavily, he growled loudly at the sight.

"He actually hurt me!" Zell screamed out.

Illidan barely heard those words though as he began to fall to the ground. "I'm exhausted. I tried Marie, I tried so hard, but it just wasn't enough. Forgive me." he lightly mumbled on his way down.

Slamming into the ground, he began panting heavily. Fatigue was pushing him towards unconsciousness, but he struggled against it. Looking up, he saw Zell's horrified look and lightly smirked again.

Zell growled loudly and glared at the fallen figure of Illidan. "I'll …"

"You won't do anything to him." the voice commanded.

Sighing, Zell closed his eyes and listened to the voice. "He is far stronger than I first anticipated. That technique is not one that is easy to learn. I believe he would be far more valuable to us alive."

"Yes Master." Zell mumbled.

"Use it on the girl." the voice commanded.

Turning to Marie, Zell reached inside of his cloak and pulled out a hollowed out reed. Taking a small breath, Zell blew into the reed, shooting out a small dart. The dart hit Marie in the shoulder with very little resistance.

"What… are you doing to her?" Illidan asked with labored breaths.

Smirking, Zell responded with "I just injected her with a little poison that me and my Master came up with. Like before, this poison will slowly paralyze her. Unlike before though, she has six days to live. Master, would you like to explain his task, or shall I?"

Instantly, the answer came, as Zell's face seemed to lightly change. His eyes changed from a blue color to a cold looking golden set. With an icy voice, Zell said "It is nice to meet you face to face finally Illidan."

"Who?" Illidan asked with difficulty.

"I am known as Legato Bluesummers. I am the one who gave Zell his power, and now I reside within his body." Legato curtly responded.

Turning towards Marie, he said "That girl, she will be dead in six days time if you don't complete a set of tasks that I have for you. They are fairly simple tasks really. All you must do is retrieve the Egyptian God Cards for me and meet me at the spot where the Sacred Beasts were released last year."

Coldly, Legato added "Don't think I won't let that girl die if you fail. I am not very forgiving. Remember, in six days, bring the Egyptian God Cards to the site of where the Sacred Beasts were released last year."

Moving over to Marie, Legato went to pick her up, but heard Illidan, with a struggling voice, say "Leave her alone!"

Smirking, Legato ignored him and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Glaring back at Illidan, he said "Don't fail Illidan. Her life hangs in the balance."

A cloud of darkness formed around the pair and they simply vanished. "Marie…" Illidan struggled to say.

"ILLIDAN!" cried out a voice.

Rapidly approaching steps caught his attention as he heard the person nearing. The figure came to a sliding stop beside of Illidan. Looking up, he saw it was Jaden, with tears streaming down his face.

"Hang on Illidan!" he sobbed out.

"Marie…" Illidan said in a low whisper before finally passing out.

Shaking his head wildly, Jaden cried out "Please, no, don't leave me! Don't die Illidan! You and Marie are all the family I have left, so please don't leave me alone again!"

Checking Illidan's vitals, Jaden quickly realized Illidan was still very alive. He let out a loud sigh and wiped the tears from his eyes. Gently, he began to pick Illidan up to a shouldering position, careful not to brush up against any of his wounds.

For nearly an hour, Jaden struggled to carry Illidan to the medical center. He finally made it, causing the nurses and doctors to scramble. They immediately placed him on a stretcher and took him into the center.

Jaden never once thought about leaving the center throughout the night. He waited till finally the doctors came out.

"IS HE ALRIGHT!?" Jaden immediately asked with some panic in his voice.

The doctor sighed and replied "He's very injured, but he may fully recover. He has a broken arm, leg, and ribs, with a little bit of internal bleeding. We got the bleeding to stop for now, so he should be alright. It'll be a long time though before he's up and about."

Nodding, Jaden asked "May I see stay in his room?"

Somewhat shocked, the doctor frowned, saying "Really, you can't. Only family is allowed."

"But I am family!" Jaden replied hastily, not thinking of what he was saying.

Sighing, the doctor glanced around and noted no one was close. Making a decision, he quietly replied "Alright, but you must leave him be. He needs rest."

Nodding solemnly, Jaden replied "I will."

"Go on ahead. It's room 115."

"Thank you." Jaden said as he walked down the hall.

Arriving in the room, Jaden saw Illidan laying on the medical bed. He had many tubes and needles stuck in his body, with many devices attached to him to monitor his vital signs.

Silently, Jaden pulled a chair up to Illidan's bed and sighed. "Man, that guy did a number on you. I wish I had been there… Maybe I could have done something."

Sighing once more, Jaden relaxed into the chair and watched Illidan calmly. "I wonder if this is how it felt when mom lost dad, or even when I lost mom." Jaden silently pondered.

Through the night, Jaden sat in the chair, watching Illidan intently. While Jaden watched, he never even noticed a small amount of Shadow Magic stirring in Illidan.

Illidan had silently regained some consciousness, and realized how badly the shape his body was in. Using the last of his Shadow Magic, he placed himself into a deep healing sleep and allowed his Shadow Powers to begin repairing the damage.

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All through the night and most of the next day, Jaden stayed at the bedside, not moving an inch. The doctors checked in on Illidan constantly, and urged Jaden to go home and get some sleep, but like his ancestor, Jaden stubbornly refused.

Finally, nearly evening the next day, Illidan began to slowly awaken. He tested the waters of his consciousness first, making sure that his body had healed somewhat. Finding the healing process had been rather successful, Illidan finally decided to fully awaken.

Seeing Illidan stirring, Jaden smiled. At long last, Illidan's eyes slowly fluttered open. They began to focus on the figure before him, which he instantly recognized as Jaden.

"You're finally awake!" Jaden excitedly said.

Groaning, Illidan softly replied "Yeah…"

He tried to sit up, but Jaden was quick to say "Don't do that. You're pretty banged up."

Lightly smirking, Illidan replied "Not really. I did a lot of healing in my sleep."

Gently, Illidan moved himself into a sitting position. Jaden gasped in shock, asking "How can you do that?"

"I used my Shadow Powers to heal my body. How long was I out?"

Thinking for a moment, Jaden finally replied "Nearly a day. You slept all night and most of today. In about six hours, it will be a full day."

"I see."

Testing his right arm, Illidan gently lifted it out of it's sling and moved it around a little. Due that it was in a cast, he couldn't tell for sure if it had fully healed or not. Opening and closing his hand, he finally figured that the bone must have healed. Carefully, he touched his right side to find that his ribs were wrapped heavily. Pushing on the wrapping, he felt some tenderness, but the certain broken feeling wasn't there. Checking his leg next, Illidan lightly touched it and moved it. It was in a heavy cast as well, but he could tell it felt like it was fixed.

"Almost good as new." he commented.

Shocked, Jaden asked "You mean you've almost healed completely from that fight in nearly one day!?"

"Yes. I was taught this ability long ago, and it's very helpful if you're badly injured. Of course, it consumes a lot of your Shadow Magic, but it's worth it. Plus, you're immobilized due that you have to sleep it off. In any case, by tomorrow, I should be one-hundred percent."

"Amazing." Jaden murmured.

Immediately, Illidan's thoughts turned elsewhere. "Marie…" he whispered as tears slowly slid down his cheeks.

Barely hearing it, Jaden sadly smiled, saying "We'll get her back man. Don't go and get bummed out."

"I failed her again." Illidan softly said in a mere whisper.

Shaking his head, Jaden replied "You did what you could man. By the way, what do you mean again?"

"Zell kidnapped her before in the past."

Raising an eyebrow, Jaden asked "In the past, like five millennia ago past?"

Sighing, Illidan nodded, and began to tell the tale of what had happened.

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"That Zell guy sounds nuts." Jaden stated after the story ended.

Illidan couldn't help but laugh at that. "He seems to be now, but he's a strong nut."

Frowning, Jaden asked "So, last year, the battle with the Shadow Riders, that was all his doing?"

"Yeah, it seems so. Why, I'm still unsure. Possibly to not soil his own hands, or to test the island's defenses."

Pausing for a moment, Illidan continued with "Whatever it was, it doesn't matter. What does matter now is I have to save Marie."

"But Zell has the antidote. How do you plan to get it?"

Pondering the question for a moment, Illidan finally said "I suppose by completing his little task and then offer the cards up in a duel in exchange for the antidote."

Nodding, Jaden replied "That sounds like a plan."

Frowning, Illidan said "The only problem is getting the cards."

"Are they very far away?"

Lightly chuckling, Illidan shook his head, saying "Actually, they're closer than you think. They're actually here on the island."

"WHAT!?" Jaden exclaimed.

Calming down, Jaden asked "You mean here on this island, Duel Academy Island!?"

Nodding, Illidan replied "Of course."

"But why here!?"

Smiling, Illidan simply said "Really easy. What better a place to hide the most powerful cards ever created than on an island dedicated to dueling?"

"Still, that's awfully dangerous. What if someone found them…"

Chuckling, Illidan replied "They won't be able to get to them. I sealed them myself. So there are no worries about that."

"I see. Is that why this Zell guy wants you to go get them?" Jaden asked curiously.

"I suppose. My seals were very well made, and you can't overpower a seal."

Frowning, Illidan continued with "But there is a problem… I can't undo my seals either. I have to fulfill the requirements in order to get the cards."

"What are the requirements? Maybe I can help." Jaden offered.

Sighing, Illidan replied "I wish it was that simple. What I must ask of you and a few others is difficult, not to mention dangerous. It almost makes me wish I hadn't made the seal that way."

Turning to Jaden, Illidan said "Jaden, I want you to go talk to Chazz and Alexis. I wish to talk to the three of you tomorrow at my house about the cards."

Jaden's brow furrowed, as he said "No offense Illidan, but I don't think you should leave the hospital yet."

"I won't till tomorrow. Don't worry, my body has nearly recovered. I'll be fully healed by tomorrow." Illidan reassured.

Sighing in defeat, Jaden replied "Ok."

"I want all of you to meet me at the house at noon tomorrow. That should be plenty of time."

"What if the others want to come along?" Jaden asked.

"Ask them not to. I don't wish to not include them, but it is necessary to keep them safe." Illidan replied.

Once more sighing, Jaden nodded, saying "Very well. Till then Illidan, you should rest up. We'll need you at full strength if we're to succeed."

"Right." Illidan said with a nod.

Standing, Jaden stretched and lightly yawned, saying "Man, I didn't know I was so tired."

"Thank you Jaden."

"Huh? What for?"

Smiling, Illidan replied "For bringing me here."

"No problem Illidan. Just get better." Jaden said back with a smile.

"Deal."

Turning and walking away, Jaden got to the door before stopping and saying "Please don't leave me."

With a questionable look on his face, Illidan asked "What do you mean leave you?"

Jaden turned around to only show half his face, which Illidan saw had a few stray tears running down his face. "I don't want to lose another person that I care about."

"Don't worry Jaden, I'm not very easy to become lost. Go rest and tell the others."

Nodding, Jaden wiped his tears away with his sleeve before smiling. "Take care Illidan."

"You too."

That said, Jaden opened the door and left Illidan's room. Sighing, Illidan sank back into the bed. Calling up his Shadow Powers once more, he fell back into his deep healing sleep, hoping it would finish the healing process.

As sleep overcame him, his mind settled on one person as it almost always did. "Marie…" he whispered as he fell into his healing sleep.

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The next morning, Illidan awoke around nine. Stretching, Illidan used his Shadow Powers to check the damage to his body. Finding no damage left, Illidan lightly smiled and sat up.

"No soreness. That's good." he murmured.

Carefully, he began unhooking all the wires and tubes that were attached to his body. Once free, he glanced at the casts on his leg and foot, plus the wrapping on his ribs.

Sighing, he glanced around the room for some kind of knife, but found none. "I guess I could just destroy the casts with my Shadow Powers."

Summoning up his Shadow Powers, he carefully used them to split the cast on his right hand in half. Once he had finished, the bottom half of the cast fell to the bed. Pulling the other half off the top of his arm, he moved his right hand around a bit, flexing his fingers. He slowly moved the remainder of his arm around too, making completely sure he was healed.

"Good as new." he commented with a smile.

Doing the same thing to the cast on his left leg, Illidan flexed his leg, making completely sure it was alright. Finding it was, he began to unwrap the bandages around his ribs.

Finally finished, Illidan swung his feet out of bed and stood up. Finding his body had fully recovered, he smiled. Walking over to where his clothes laid, he quickly dressed. Finding a hair brush, he tamed down his hair and looked in the mirror. He was a bit dirty, but he decided to shower once he got home.

The door suddenly came open, with a nurse in a white uniform with raven black mid-back length hair whose back was to him. "Good morning Mr. Stormrage. How are…"

She turned to find him standing fully dressed, and gasped, yelling "You shouldn't be out of bed!"

Lightly chuckling, he responded "I'm fine."

"No, you're injured! You shouldn't be up at all!" she argued back.

"Really, I'm fine. My leg, ribs, and arm are all healed."

Placing her hands on her hips, the nurse yelled back "You're still injured! Get back in bed now!"

Seeing the conversation was going nowhere, Illidan decided to take a different approach. Tapping into his Shadow Powers, he began to touch the woman's mind. Finding the memories of his condition, he slowly tampered with them, changing them so she wouldn't remember that he was injured.

Finishing, he left her mind and waited for her to say something. Her face formed into a frown. "May I help you sir?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm checking out." he replied.

"Oh, ok. I'll get you a release form."

"Thank you." he kindly said back.

She immediately left the room, forgetting the argument altogether. Sighing as she left, Illidan muttered "I hate doing that."

Once he finished getting ready, the nurse returned with a form, saying "Here you go, just sign this."

Signing, Illidan smiled, asking "I'm free to go now, right?"

Checking over the paperwork, she nodded, saying "Yes."

"Thank you."

After making sure he had everything, Illidan left the medical center. He quickly crossed the campus to his home and entered it. Finding Pharaoh was still gone, Illidan frowned.

"Where could he have gotten to?" he softly questioned.

Shrugging, he preceded to layout some new clothes to wear and headed for the shower. Turning on the water, Illidan undressed and moved into the water slowly. Standing under the hot steamy water for a while, Illidan felt the tension slowly melt away.

"I have to find Marie and get her the cure quickly. I just hope Zell leaves her be. If he touches her like she mentioned he thought about last time, I'll kill him."

Finishing up his shower, he dried off and dressed in a pair of jeans and a black button up short sleeve shirt with an orange undershirt. Staring in the mirror, Illidan pondered if he should even worry about bounding his hair up or not, but decided to go with the later like he always did.

Once finished, he grabbed a bowel of Ramen and a sandwich. Finishing up, he waited for the others to arrive.