Hello again everyone! Well, this past weekend was an enjoyable weekend. Friday, I saw my grandfather, who went home from the hospital not long after I made it there, which was cool. I spent some time with my mom, sister, her boyfriend, my grandmother, and grandfather. I talked a bit with Steve (my sister's boyfriend), which was fun. He's a pretty cool guy. Anyways, after a while, I finally went home. Saturday, me and my mate went to Charleston to do some of our Christmas shopping. I got my step brother's gift, and my mate picked out my sister something, plus we have my step mom already taken care of. My mate managed to get almost all of her family done, all but one I think. Lol, she also took me into Victoria's Secrets to get something for us to enjoy (more like her to wear and me to enjoy looking at, hehe). Anyways, yesterday, we spent the day napping in the afternoon, and not much else really happened.

Hard to believe, I had five days off, and I barely got any writing done on Another, although I did make major headway on the sequel to FG. This is due to the co-writer on the sequel, now dubbed Minutes to Midnight, the wonderful ardee! Ardee did a wonderful job on outlining a plot and helping me and rl Marie decide on what to do with the final story of the Illidan and Marie series. The series will end with MtM, that much is assured, which I'm happy and sad. Really, it does a much better job at ending the series than FG would have. I am truly thankful for ardee's help on this joint effort, for I was somewhat lost on how to do it, lol. Anyways, the future is looking bright for MtM, so stay tuned to the future.

Last time, Jaden defeated BLS in battle at long last, earning him Slifer the Sky Dragon. Illidan then reclaimed BLS for his own deck. Now that three of the four Egyptian God Cards are returned, can the fourth be picked up, and what sinister plans do Zell and Legato have in store for the group?

Ok, time once more for that great part of the morning! Review Time!

Nathan: Thanks. Yeah, I think everyone was thrown for a loop that I'd use Candelato. Really, the card did fit perfectly in with a deck centered around Slifer like you said, seeing how both require cards in your hand to make it work. Perhaps Jaden will do well with Slifer… Heh, yeah, Metal Overlord's review/duel is pretty good. It's a very original deck, to say the least.

Isis the Sphinx: Uh, uh, someone… other than Yugi… with tri-colored hair… Maybe… Seto colored his hair! Yeah, that could be it! Lol, thanks for the review.

Metal Overlord 2.0: Thanks. I know, no one thought of BLS using Candelato as his backup weapon. Glad I haven't lost that surprise power yet. Nice duel so far btw. Thanks for the review!

Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks. Yep, one contact fusion, but there is more to come, I assure you. Yes, Thanksgiving was interesting to say the least. That sucks. Possibly it could be one of the duelists…

Knives91: Thank you, and yes, you guessed the guardian. Thanks for both reviews.

pink-kiss-candy: Illidan's working on saving her. LOL! It could always get worse Ryon, just trust me. Ouch, that would hurt to become a dead puppet for 72 hours. What kind of freak you ask? (/Points to huge guy in a black robe with clouds on it and a big hat over his head.\)

Thanks everyone for the reviews. I truly enjoyed them this week. It is always nice to see what everyone thinks of this story, and I'm truly happy that most think it's good. Good or bad criticism, I enjoy it. Anyone who has not reviewed but reads, don't feel shy. I enjoy hearing from new people as well as the old diehard fans. Anyways, I'm done for today. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks once more.

Chapter 58

Upon exiting the shrine, the group was welcomed by the site of the full moon. Smiling up at it, Illidan led the group further from the shrines and then turned back. One by one, the three shrines completely appeared. Waving his hand through the air, the shrines vanished once more, leaving the area empty looking, like it always had.

Moving the group towards the way out of the forest, Illidan suddenly stopped when he saw a figure blocking the path. While the group moved closer, they saw that the person had sandy blonde spiky hair, piercing light blue eyes, and wore a Red Dorm uniform. On his arm was a Duel Disk, showing his intentions.

Knowing who the person was, Illidan held his hand up for Alexis and Jaden to stay back. Moving closer to the figure, Illidan curtly said "Roxas."

"Professor Stormrage." Roxas curtly replied.

"Why are you here?" Illidan asked calmly.

Smirking, Roxas wryly replied "To take that Egyptian God Card of Jaden's. My Master wishes to have it."

Lightly growling, Illidan moved into a defensive stance, defiantly saying "You'll have to go through me first!"

"Professor Illidan, don't."

Turning back to see it was Jaden who said that, Illidan snapped out "Jaden, stay out of this! He's trying to do to you like what the others had happen to them."

Placing a kind hand on Illidan's shoulder, Jaden smiled, saying "I know, but I'm not going to back down from him."

"Jaden…"

Chuckling, Roxas quirked "Is Professor Stormrage afraid to allow Jaden to fight his own battle?"

Lightly growling, Illidan threw a glare at Roxas, saying "Keep out of this!"

"Sorry, but I can't. If I wish to have my memories back, I must take Jaden's Egyptian God Card." Roxas gently said with a sad smile.

Calming down with a heavy sigh, Illidan slowly said "Zell is only using you as a tool to get what he wants. Do you honestly think he'll give you back your memories if you help him?"

"I do." Roxas confidently replied.

Shaking his head, Illidan flatly responded "Then you're more of a fool than I thought."

Smirking, Roxas smartly replied "We shall see. Now step aside, and let me and Jaden duel."

Moving out of Jaden's way, Illidan placed a hand on his shoulder, saying "Be careful. He seems more focused than the others."

"Right." Jaden simply responded.

Both Roxas and Jaden took up positions to face one another. Smirking, Roxas said "I've been looking forward to this rematch Jaden. You beat me last time, but only due to my weak fake of a deck."

"Fake deck?" Jaden asked with a confused expression.

"Yes, a fake deck. Now you will feel the true force of my real deck!" Roxas remarked smartly.

Smiling, Jaden happily said "I can't wait. Let's get this going then!"

Simultaneously activating their Duel Disks, the pair drew their first five cards, with each saying "Game on!"

"I'll go first." Jaden said as he drew his sixth card. Examining his hand, he picked up a card and slapped it horizontally to his Duel Disk, saying "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in defense."

A large grey round like creature with gold feet and some on his shoulders, with a red dome head and black stripe surrounding his neck appeared. The creature had large legs and arms, seemingly meant for defense.

"That'll do it for me." (Jaden 8000, Roxas 8000)

Drawing a card, Roxas smirked, asking "You realize this is a Shadow Game, right?"

"Of course, since you three are pretty much all the same. Shadow Game or normal game, it's still a duel." Jaden responded.

"I see." Roxas confidently replied. Picking a different card from his hand, he calmly said "Jaden, your Elemental Heroes are interesting, but they're not real heroes."

"Uh, yeah they are. After all, they're called Elemental Heroes, thus making them heroes." Jaden countered.

Smirking, Roxas slyly said "Your creatures are pretenders, compared to my heroes. It's time I introduced the real deal to you. I'll show you that my heroes, the Destiny Heroes, are far superior to your weak Elemental Heroes! I play the spell D-Spirit, which activates when I have no monsters on my field with the name Destiny Hero in it. Now I can special summon a level four or lower Destiny Hero, so I pick Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (600/800)!"

A black armored figure with a tattered red cape, long clawed hands, a white head in which only his eyes were revealed, and a set of curved up shoulder spikes materialized onto the field.

"Wow, he looks rather interesting, although he isn't very strong." Jaden commented.

Smirking at this, Roxas confidently replied "He's much more than a pretty face. Now then, I activate the spell Reasoning. Here is how it works: you declare a monster level, then I pick up cards till I find a monster. If the monster I pick up is the same level as you declare, then that monster is discarded, but if it's not the same level, I get to special summon it. So pick a level!"

Not even pausing to think, Jaden called out "Level four!"

"Good, then here I go." Roxas calmly said while picking up his first card. Smirking, he showed it to Jaden, saying "I just drew a level five, which is this, my Destiny Hero – Double Dude (1000/1000)!"

Appearing onto the field, a man dressed in a black suit with white gloves, which one hand held a cane with a blue sphere at the top, with a purple scarf that covered his mouth and nose, wore glasses that hid his eyes, and a black hat.

"Now then, I play another spell card, my Quick Summon! This lets me normal summon another monster that's level four or lower, so I pick my Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (800/800)!"

With a mighty battle cry, a man with long orange hair, a black mask that covered half of his face, a bare chest that was well toned, with powerful arms that had some sort of set of shields strapped on, and strong legs in blue green armor appeared.

"Since I have all the monsters now that I needed, it's time I show you my true intentions. I sacrifice all three of my monsters in order to special summon one of my strongest Destiny Heroes, Destiny Hero Dogma (3400/2400)!"

Each of the three monsters on the field vanished in a flash of light, leaving the field empty. A flash of light then enveloped the field, which died down to reveal a large black creature with massive black wings. A pair of chains were wrapped around his neck, with white horns sticking out of it's head. The creature had olive skin with red eyes. On the monster's right arm was a large sharp looking object protruding from his wrist that looked like a sword.

Chuckling darkly, Roxas called out "Dogma, show Jaden who he is dealing with! Attack his pathetic Clayman with Crystal Justice Slash!"

Letting out a small grunt of acknowledgment, the creature leapt into the air and went sailing straight for the rock warrior. Coming down hard, the creature pieced the rock warrior's heavy defensive arm, shattering the rock creature easily.

"I shall place a card face down to end Jaden." (Jaden 8000, Roxas 8000)

Picking up a card, Jaden smiled, saying "Not a bad opening move."

"Thank you, but it's not over yet." Roxas wryly commented.

"Huh?"

Smirking, Roxas pointed at the winged creature saying "Dogma has another special ability that I forgot to mention. When summoned, he automatically halves your life points during your Standby Phase, which is now."

Before Jaden could react, the creature began to glow black suddenly. Without any warning, Jaden's body glowed black as well, making him scream out in pain while holding his sides. Finally, the glow died down, but Jaden dropped to one knee, panting heavily while sweat poured off his face.

"Hurts, don't it Jaden? Why not end the suffering and stay down?" Roxas taunted.

Slightly growling, Jaden rose up with some difficulty, saying "Never! A duel isn't over till the last card is played, and believe me, I have plenty of cards to play! To start with, I play this, the spell Double Fusion! Thanks to this, I pay 500 life points, but now I can have two fusion summons this turn, so I fuse Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Appearing onto the field was a green feathered warrior and a woman in a red jump suit. The two swirled together, forming a creature that had a red dragon head for a right arm, a mostly green and black body, with a long red tail, and a white wing on it's left shoulder. The creature's head was mostly black with some red, and it's eyes were red.

"As impressive as Flame Wingman is, there is another fusion even greater, so I fuse Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) to form the one and only Elemental Hero Shinning Flare Wingman (2500/2100)!"

A blue and gold armored warrior with electricity flowing around his body appeared onto the field beside of the green combo warrior. Swirling together, a blinding beam of light formed on the field. From the light, a set of metal wings with razor sharp feathers appeared. As the light faded, more of the creature became apparent. Next was it's powerful white legs, then it's torso, followed by it's powerful white armored arms, and at long lest the creatures helmeted head. The only skin seen was on the creature's neck, which was a shade of green.

"Your so called impressive creature is too weak to fight Dogma." Roxas pointed out with a small chuckle.

Smiling, Jaden nodded in response, saying "True, but he has a sweet special effect. For each Elemental Hero chilling out in my Graveyard, he gains 300 attack points. Currently, I have five hanging out, so that means 1500 bonus attack points (2500 + 1500 4000/2100)!"

The white armored warrior bent his arms upward slightly while the light surrounding his body increased in brightness.

"Shining Flare Wingman, let's take down that Dogma! Hit him with Shining Nova Sphere!"

Flying into the air, the warrior put his hands together. Pulling them slowly apart, a sphere of green energy formed. Once the sphere was the size of a basketball, the warrior pulled the sphere back with his right hand and threw it at the black winged warrior across the field.

"Not quite." Roxas remarked with a smirk. Raising his hand to point at his face down card, he called out "I activate the trap D-Counter! Thanks to this, I can destroy your monster before it even touches Dogma, so take that!"

The shining white armored warrior suddenly slammed into an invisible barrier and began to scream out in pain. Seconds later, the warrior shattered, leaving nothing behind.

Softly growling in frustration, Jaden picked a card from his hand and said "I'll throw down a face down, and that's it." (Jaden 3500, Roxas 8000)

"I thought Jaden had him for sure." Alexis commented dejectedly.

"Don't give up on him yet Alexis. Jaden is still very much alive in this duel. He needs our support more than ever." Illidan replied.

Nodding, Alexis sighed and said "True. I just hope he can hold on."

Drawing a card, Roxas slightly smirked, saying "You are a fool Jaden to think you can beat me."

"Really, well, we'll see!" Jaden responded with confidence.

Lightly chuckling, Roxas said "Yes, we shall. Now then, first of all, in my Standby Phase, Double Dude's effect kicks in. Since he went to my Graveyard, his effect allows me to special summon two Double Dude Tokens (1000/1000), so come on out boys."

Two men dressed in black suits with hats appeared onto the field, each holding a cane.

"Dogma, let's end this! Attack Jaden directly with…"

Holding out his hand, Jaden called out "Not so fast, I have a trap! It's time I revealed my A Hero Emerges! Normally, when I activate this trap, you'd have to randomly pick a card from my hand and if it was a monster, I get to special summon it, but since I only hold one card, let's just get right down to business."

Flipping the card around to reveal it was a monster, Jaden slapped the card horizontally to his Duel Disk, saying "I special summon Elemental Hero Necroshade (1600/1800) in defense."

A red and white colored warrior with silver on it's chest appeared in a crouching defensive stance. He had clawed hands, along with a face covered completely in a mask with red eyes.

"No matter, I'll just annihilate that pathetic creature! Destroy it Dogma!"

Continuing to rush forward, the dark winged warrior swung it's crystal sword through the red and white creature, instantly shattering it upon contact.

"Double Dude Tokens, show him what you got with a direct attack!"

Both men in black suits leapt forward, each smacking Jaden hard with their canes. The first struck him in the chest, while the other struck him in the gut, making Jaden double over and wrap his arms around his sore chest and gut.

"I'll end with a face down. Better prepare for the end Jaden, because it's coming." (Jaden 1500, Roxas 8000)

Still with his arms wrapped around his stomach and chest, Jaden fell to one knee, panting hard. Sweat was pouring off his face while he sat there, trying hard to regain his breath.

"Jaden, hang in there! We know you can do it!" Alexis encouraged.

Watching Jaden pant heavily, realization hit Illidan. "He's exhausted. That duel between him and guardian took so much energy out of him. I don't know if he can keep this kind of pace up. If it was a slower pace duel, he might make it, but with Roxas playing such fast action, it's impossible."

A minute or two went by, and still, Jaden stayed down on his knee with labored breathing. He tried to stand once, but miserably fell back down to one knee.

"Just admit it Jaden, you're finished! Surrender now and I'll let you have an honorable death." Roxas confidently remarked.

Jaden visually grimaced at the comments, but still didn't move. His breathing was still labored, but it was slowing a little.

"Are you going to take that you Slacker!?" a voice called out from the direction of the dorms.

Looking in the direction, the group saw Chazz struggling to walk towards them. Jaden's eyes widen with recognition, asking "Chazz?"

"Nobody is going to defeat that Slifer Slacker other than The Chazz, got that!?" Chazz confidently stated.

Chuckling darkly, Roxas pointed a finger at Chazz, saying "Your pride blinds you to the fact that you're not even in Jaden's league. Once my Master finishes with Illidan, you and that sweet Alexis will be next."

"You're not going to hurt either of them!" Jaden cried out as he stood up once more.

Turning to Chazz, he smiled, saying "Thanks for that Chazz."

"Heh, anytime." Chazz remarked.

Moving his attention to Roxas, Jaden smiled, saying "I'm not done with this duel yet."

"You're kidding me? Look at you, you're a mess. You won't last much longer, not to mention, you have nothing!" Roxas stated.

Smiling, Jaden replied "Maybe so, but a duel isn't over till the last card is played, and last time I checked, it was my turn, so here goes something!"

Picking up a new card, Jaden examined it and exclaimed "Sweetness! I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in defense mode."

In a spray of bubbles, a man in a blue costume outfit with a long white cape, light blue boots, gloves, shoulder pads, and a helmet that covered all but his mouth. On his right wrist was a small gun attached that looked like the end of a water hose, and on his back was a set of water tanks.

"Since Bubbleman is the last card in my hand, his special ability allows him to be a special summon. Plus, since I have nothing on my field, Bubbleman's other effect allows me to draw two new cards."

Grabbing two cards, Jaden examined them and smiled once more, saying "It's time I kick this duel up a notch! I play the spell Metamorphosis, which allows me to sacrifice a monster on my field in order to summon a Fusion Monster with the same stars, so farewell Bubbleman and hello Elemental Hero Neo Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

The blue warrior on the field slowly began to morph into a newer form. His armor took on small fins, and his cape became a large white fin. His helmet changed as well, adding a set of fins onto the side of it.

"Next, I play the equip spell Bubble Blaster and hook it up to Bubbleman, raising his attack points by 800 (800 + 800 1600/1200)!"

A large missile launcher appeared in the sky above the blue warrior, who held out his right arm and caught it. Taking a right knee position, the warrior brought the blaster into firing position.

"Neo Bubbleman, show that Double Dude Token we're not finished with Bubble Barrage!"

Taking aim, the blue warrior launched a blast of water at one of the men in black suits. The blast slammed into the creature, which easily shattered on contact. The remainder of the blast continued on past, striking Roxas, making him slightly grunt in pain.

"That's it for me, so bring it on!" (Jaden 1500, Roxas 7400)

"Not bad Slacker, not bad." Chazz commented with a smirk.

Slightly growling, Roxas drew his next card, saying "Alright, you had your fun, now it's time I ended this game of charades! Dogma, obliterate that pathetic hero with Crystal Justice Slash!"

Rushing forward with full force, the black winged warrior pulled back his sharp crystal sword. While the black winged warrior approached, the blue warrior released a burst of water from his rocket launcher like weapon. The blast struck the black winged warrior, which let out a howl of pain and exploded into millions of pieces. Once the creature was gone, the rocket launcher weapon shattered and vanished off of the blue warrior's shoulder, who stood up straight once more.

"WHAT!?" Roxas exclaimed.

Chuckling at this, Jaden explained, saying "I forgot to mention something about Neo's special ability. When he battles with a monster, at the end of the Damage Step, he destroys the monster he fights with, hence Dogma is gone."

Growling loudly, Roxas pointed an angry finger at Jaden, yelling "Then why didn't you lose the duel! Dogma had more than enough attack points to destroy you, and the Battle Damage would have been 1800 points, more than enough to wipe you out!"

"True, but there is something else you didn't know. Remember the Bubble Blaster? Well, it has an effect also. When Bubbleman would be destroyed in battle, it is destroyed instead, and all Battle Damage is reduced to zero. So sorry, but no dice on me disappearing just yet." Jaden said with a light chuckle.

The vein in Roxas's forehead began popping out. In pure anger, he screamed "Double Dude Token, destroy Bubbleman!"

Moving forward at a quick pace, the man in the black suit pulled his cane up and struck the blue warrior, but not before the blue warrior let loose a shot of bubbles at the man. The two simultaneously exploded, leaving the field nearly empty.

Grinding his teeth in anger, Roxas growled out "I guess since my Double Dude Token fought Neo Bubbleman, they were both destroyed, right?"

Nodding, Jaden simply replied "Yep."

Picking a card from his hand, Roxas muttered "I play Destiny Hero – Defender (100/2700) in defense."

A large grey brick like monster appeared onto the field in a kneeling position with his arms up as shields. On the creature's head, there was a small golden grate that revealed only a pair of red eyes.

"I end." (Jaden 1300, Roxas 7400)

Drawing his new card, Jaden noticed that the grey brick monster began to lightly glow. Seeing this, he asked "Does your Defender have some kind of special ability?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He allows you to draw an additional card so long as he's in face up defense mode." Roxas grudgingly responded.

"Sweetness!" Jaden replied with a smile while he picked up another card.

Glancing at his hand, he picked a card and said "I play the spell E – Emergency Call, which lets me add an Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand, so pick Elemental Hero Neos. Next, I activate the special ability of my Elemental Hero Necroshade. While he's in the Graveyard, I summon a monster that has Elemental Hero in it's name without a sacrifice, so I pick Elemental Hero Neos (2500/2100)!"

A streak of light flashed in the sky and slowly, a white warrior with a mask over his face, with some red and blue on his body, and a blue circle on the center of his chest, appeared onto the field.

"Next, I activate the spell card H – Heated Heart! Thanks to this card, it raises Neos's attack points by 500 for this turn (2500 + 500 3000/2100), plus it gives him Trample! Neos, introduce yourself to Defender with Cosmic Crush!"

Leaping into the air, the white warrior came down with his fist forward, striking the weaker grey brick creature hard, shattering it to pieces. Part of the debris struck Roxas, making him lightly growl.

"Your go." (Jaden 1300, Roxas 7100)