Hey there everyone! Well, this weekend wasn't too bad. I saw my grandfather Friday, who was doing pretty decent, although he had a small fever. My grandmother is worried that it will lead back to what he had that put him in the hospital twice in the recent past. We're hoping not, but you never know. Other than that, he was doing pretty well. Ah yes, and Friday, I found out I need to make another trip to get my car worked on… It has a rattling sound in the rear of it that wasn't there before. (/Heavily sighs.\) I hate to make another trip, but it needs fixed. Who knows what they left loose this time… Anyways, I'm due to head back there tomorrow. Tonight though, I'm going to see my grandfather again. The rest of the weekend, nothing really happened, other than my mate got "drunk" Saturday night. Heh, she said she was tipsy… yeah, right, lol. Hilariously, she had only one beer at 5 alcohol rating. Silly cat, she just can't hold her liquor, lol.
Writing wise, things are moving along. I've decided the date I'll begin posting Another is this Friday instead. I know, I said last time I'd do it Saturday, but I changed my mind. After all, Saturday is special to me and my mate. So, Friday it is.
Btw, I have a little contest or whatever you want to call it. If anyone paid attention to my last chapter or two's comments, you'd note February second is very special to me and my mate. No, it's not Groundhog Day before anyone suggests it… What is so special about this day for me and my mate? If anyone can answer this week, I'll post an extra chapter. So, there's a challenge to get a new chapter, heh.
Last time, Marie's fight with Zell raged on, with her taking control for a while before Zell managed to summon both Cyberdark Dragon and Cyber End Dragon. The turn in which her Card of Demise's effect is about to come about, with her having only two face down cards that can't apparently save her from an attack. One way or another, the climatic end is coming, but will Marie manage to get out of this jam with her soul and her child, or will Zell erase her memories, allowing her to become his?
And now, time once again for the reviews!
Knives91: Yeah, things are getting a bit nasty there. Marie's bleeding to death, much like Zane/Zell. Heh, there might be enough to put in a can, you never know. Thanks for the review!
x-knight20: Thanks. It's cool about not being able to read sometimes. Things happen, which I don't mind. Real life takes precedence to everything else. Very true, things are close for Marie, not to mention Zell has both Cyberdark and Cyber End Dragons out. Here's hoping that she does something this turn. Thanks for the review!
Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks. Heh, yeah, it nearly did end, but I was at the limit on the chapter, so I continued it to the next chapter. Things are up in the air about what could happen next. You never know, it could go either way, although Marie has to discard her hand this turn, thus not making it a very good case for her to win. Yep, I got my car back, but like I said earlier, I have to take it back again tomorrow. (/Sighs\) Thus is my life, lol. I'll PM this morning about the link. Thanks for the review!
Nathan: Eh, I might have, lol. I sometimes do that. Oh well, hehe. True, Illidan is a bit over protective of Marie, but I can see how he would be. He nearly lost her twice now when she was with child, thus he has an urgent need to want to keep her away from harm. Plus, he has always been protective of her, not wanting anything to happen to her. Even though she's technically stronger than him, she doesn't have the instincts to harm someone, thus he feels he needs to do it for her. True, she is holding her own against Zell though, but she is rather hurt too. Yes, the end is near, meaning one way or another, this duel will end and soon. Thanks for the review!
sirbj: True, Zell managed to retake the lead. He has two powerful monsters out, while Marie has nothing now, meaning she's in real trouble, especially with her Card of Demise's effect about to kick in. Hopefully Illidan will get there soon… Thanks for the review!
Ok, that's it for reviews today. Thank you everyone for your reviews. I enjoyed reading all of them. Hopefully I answered all of them for everyone. To anyone who would like to review, but is shy, feel free to review. It's not like I'll attack you and suck your blood. I'm not a vampire, lol. Well, I have fangs, but big difference… I suppose, lol. But seriously, do feel free to drop me a line. I'll answer any questions, comments, etc, to the best of my abilities without punching a hole through the plot, lol.
Thank you everybody again for your reviews. I'm looking forward to the next ones. And don't forget about the question I asked earlier. Here it is once again.
What is so special about this day for me and my mate? If anyone can answer this week, I'll post an extra chapter. So, there's a challenge to get a new chapter, heh.
Alright, that's it for me. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 86
Glaring at Zane, Marie made a movement to draw a card, but coughed hard, hacking up more blood onto the ground below her. Staring at it, her vision suddenly began to blur, and she stumbled a slight bit.
"I'm so light headed… I don't know how much more of this I can take…"
Thoughts of surrendering moved into her mind, and of being able to finally lay down on the ground and rest. Instantly, she pushed the thoughts away, screaming in her mind "No! I have to remember what I'm fighting for here! If I die, or lose my memories, I'll fail everyone! I promised to save Zane, Syrus, and all of the others Zell took! Not to mention, if I fall here, what will become of mine and Illidan's child, and most importantly, what of Illidan? He'll die without me in his life, I know it. I know he's always said he would live on for me, but I know he was lying. It'd be the same if he died. Neither of us could survive without the other, at least not for long."
Steeling her resolve, Marie glared up at Zane with confidence shining in her eyes. "I won't stop now! Too many people are counting on me! I will survive and reunite with Illidan, and free Zane and all of the other captured souls!"
With sure motions, she drew her new card and examined it to find her Duel Spirit. Softly smiling, she could hear the card calling out to her with a mighty roar, as if saying it was time.
"I hate to interrupt your thoughts my little sex slave, but I must remind you that Card of Demise's effect kicks in now. That means you must toss out all of your cards!" Zane declared in a mocking tone.
Looking at her cards, Marie faked hesitating for a moment. Growling loudly, Zane screamed "DO IT NOW! YOU KNOW THE RULES! LOSE AND FOREVER KNOW YOU LOST SLAVE!"
Closing her eyes, she nonchalantly placed the cards into her Duel Disk's Graveyard Slot. One by one, the cards were sucked in, leaving her with an empty hand.
Laughing manically, Zane victoriously said "This duel is done! You are mine sex slave!"
Smirking, Marie weakly said "I wouldn't bet on it."
Sneering, Zane mockingly responded with "Why is that? You have nothing! Look at you, you have two pathetic face down cards that can't protect you. You're finished!"
"A certain young man once told me that a duel wasn't over till the last card is played." Marie calmly said. "Last time I checked, I still had some cards left. True, my face downs can't protect me, but they can help me win."
"I doubt that." Zane arrogantly remarked.
Pointing to her first face down card, she calmly said "See for yourself."
Slowly, the face down card rose up, revealing a strange looking trap, but Zane only gasped in shock at it. Sweat instantly streaked down his cheek as he stared at the card.
"I see you've seen this trap card before. Good, then explaining it will be simple." Marie commented. "I play Disgraceful Charity. Now all the cards I discarded this turn return to my hand. That means all four cards I just dumped into the Graveyard for Card of Demise return."
One by one, four cards slid out of the Graveyard Slot. Once all four were there, Marie picked them up and smirked at Zane. "See Zell, I'm not through with this duel."
Glaring at her, Zane quickly snapped back with "You're still not going to win! Nothing in your pathetic deck can beat me!"
"Absolutely arrogant as always." Marie remarked. "I have something that will beat you. I begin by activating a spell, Celestial Transformation, which allows me to special summon a Fairy Type monster from my hand, but it's attack points are halved. I pick this, The Agent of Creation – Venus (1600 / 2 800/0)."
A fairy with golden skin and blonde hair, as well as golden wings appeared onto the field. She wore a green dress with some gold mixed into it. In front of her were three spheres, one which was blue, another red, and finally a purple one. They were hovering in a triangle like position in front of her body.
"I'm far from through though, for I play Venus's effect! I give up 500 of my life points, allowing me to special summon the monster known as Mystical Shine Ball (500/500) from my deck!"
Instantly, Marie's life points drained a small bit, causing black bolts of electricity to form around her, each zapping her body. She instantly sunk down a bit, but fought to remain standing. With all of her strength, Marie straightened back up and glared at Zane. Once she did, a small sphere of light appeared on the field with some mist circling it.
Full of confidence, her voice rang out "I sacrifice both my monsters to summon the monster that will finish you! Rise up my faithful Duel Spirit, Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500)!"
Roaring onto the field was a dark orange dragon with a massive set of wings, powerful claws, sharp fangs, a strange skin hood around it's face, and a strong tail. The dragon landed in front of Marie and let out a massive roar, showing it's eagerness for battle.
Darkly chuckling, Zane mockingly said "You waste your time to summon that creature? How pathetic my little sex slave! If you wished to lose, you should have said so!"
"I won't lose! Me and Tyrant Dragon will end this darkness you created and free Zane, along with all the others who have suffered at your hands!" Marie boldly stated.
Pointing to her face down, she called out "I activate the trap Tyrant's Rage! This trap is the only trap that can target my Tyrant Dragon directly and will end this duel. First, I have to give up half my life points."
Black bolts of electricity instantly began striking Marie's body repeatedly, making the already numerous wounds and lack of strength even more apparent to her.
"Please Tyrant Dragon, lend me your strength! Help me survive this so we can end this duel!" she mentally cried out to the dragon in distress.
Hearing her cry, the dragon softly growled and leapt into the air and shifted till it was finally a top of Marie. Landing onto the ground below, the dragon quickly encircled her and began emitting a dark orange energy from it's body. The energy slowly formed around Marie, which had an instant effect of making her stop quivering from the pain. Slowly, she relaxed a bit and closed her eyes.
"Thank you Tyrant Dragon. I can feel my strength slowly returning."
In a dark voice, the dragon replied "I cannot keep the pain away for long, nor can I heal your wounds. Are you sure you can do this?"
Opening her eyes, she confidently smiled. "Yes, I can. I want to save Zane, along with all of the others. I will do this, because I made a promise to myself to help everyone I could. Remember?"
Softly chuckling, the dragon replied "I do. I agreed to help you in your promise as well, and to never forsake you. So be it. Please, do be careful though. I don't think Illidan would take well to losing you."
"He won't." she calmly remarked back.
Leaping back into the air, the dragon returned to it's original position in front of Marie and let out a loud roar towards Zane. Zane only smirked evilly, saying "That dragon won't save you, and you know it."
"We'll see about that one Zell! Get ready to meet your end." Marie calmly remarked. "Since I just paid half my life points, Tyrant's Rage is now active! It allows me to select the strongest monster on the field and add it's attack points to Tyrant Dragon!"
"WHAT!?" Zane bellowed in shock.
Smirking, Marie replied "You heard me. Watch as I take the power of Cyber End Dragon and give it to Tyrant Dragon (2900 8000 10900/2500)!"
Roaring loudly, the machine dragon shot a beam of golden energy out of it's back. The energy instantly poured down onto the dark orange dragon, who roared wildly as it's own strength increased into new levels. Glaring at the dark machine creature, the dark orange dragon let out a terrifying roar that shook the entire forest.
"The darkness is about to lift Zell! Once I destroy that dark monstrosity, Zane's soul will be free once more, and you'll be without a body!" Marie declared with a defiant glare.
Sweat poured off of Zane's face as he cried out "Wait, let's talk about this!"
"The time for talk is over Zell. This is the end of the road for you. Farwell." Marie stated. "Tyrant Dragon, end this by destroying that Cyberdark Dragon! Blow it away with Tyrant's Flame!"
Letting out a massive roar, the dark orange dragon released a stream of searing hot orange flames at the dark machine creature. The flames easily melted a hole straight through the machine monster, which let out a thunderous wail of pain. The flames only continued on through the machine dragon and straight towards Zane, and upon impact, picked him up and slammed him into the barrier. Hitting the barrier, Zane let out a massive scream from the tremendous shock of dark bolts of electricity combined with the power of the barrier repulsing him, plus the hot flames that licked his body.
After nearly a minute of grinding against the barrier, Zane's injured body with multiple wounds and burns fell to the ground. Seeing it, Marie declared "It's over. Now leave his body Zell!"
"NOOOO!!!" Zane screamed as suddenly his body was engulfed in a dark black aura. Instantly, a black sphere of energy came out of his back, and Zane's body went slack and fell silent.
Smiling at her achievement, Marie's eyes instantly got heavy and she passed out. She immediately fell toward the ground and landed with a soft thud. Blood pooled under her body from her many wounds, soaking the ground in the crimson liquid.
"CURSE YOU! I WILL NOT BE DESTROYED LIKE THIS! LET'S SEE HOW YOU DO ONCE I TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CHILD!" the sphere screamed out in Zell's voice.
Flashing brightly, the sphere raced straight towards Marie's prone body. The sphere attempted to enter her stomach, but was quickly repulsed by a barrier.
"NOOOOO!!!" the sphere screamed out in pain as it slowly began to vanish.
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Running faster than he thought possible, Illidan stopped suddenly. Reaching out with his Shadow Powers, he instantly felt the duel end, but couldn't find either Marie or Zane's energy signature.
"No, come on Marie, let me know where you are!" he called out hysterically.
Concentrating harder, he finally found what he was looking for. "There!" he yelled and began running again.
After a minute or two later, he finally arrived to the sight of the battle. Blood was everywhere, along with several craters. He instantly saw Syrus off to the side, as well as Zane across the battlefield, but most noticeably Marie.
"Oh, by the Gods, don't let me be too late!" he yelled as he moved to her side.
Gently turning her over, Illidan instantly grimaced at the sight of her body. Her school uniform was soaked in dark crimson blood, and the clothing itself displayed the multiple stab wounds and burns she had on her body, plus the ground itself was soaked with her own blood.
Tears instantly sprang from his eyes upon close inspection of the wounds. "MARIE! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" he quickly yelled.
There was no response, thus Illidan immediately went to work at ripping the uniform top open. "I'm sorry, but I have to look. I need to know how bad it is." he mumbled.
Examining the wounds, he found many were not life threatening, but a few were pretty bad and could become deadly. Closing his eyes, he folded his hands in front of himself and began concentrating on bringing his Shadow Powers forth.
Lowering his hands till he was touching her body softly, he began releasing his Shadow Powers slowly as a healing wave. Keeping his eyes closed, he continued sending out continuous healing waves.
"You know I was never the best healer." he grumbled lowly. Opening his eyes with tender feelings in his eyes, he kindly added "But I will do what I can. Please, just stay with me."
A few minutes after beginning the healing process, Jaden made it to the battlefield and ran to Illidan's side. Staring down at a bloodied Marie, his eyes misted. "Is she…"
"No, she's not, so long as I can help it. I think I made it in time. Her wounds are healing thanks to my power." Illidan responded.
"What about the baby?" Jaden asked with a touch of worry.
Frowning, Illidan lowly mumbled back "I'm not sure… She has a barrier up surrounding the child still, so I can't tell anything about it. I think she used all of her powers to protect it from the battle, hence why Marie is in the shape she is in. If she hadn't, I'm sure that the child wouldn't have made it. Still, I won't know for sure till she drops her barrier."
Nodding, Jaden let out a heavy sigh. Glancing around, he saw both Syrus and Zane nearby. "What about them?"
"No idea." Illidan quickly responded.
Brow furrowing, Jaden asked "You haven't checked them?"
"Marie's injuries are very serious Jaden. Syrus from what I can tell looks to be in pretty good shape. Zane might be a different story though." Illidan stoically remarked.
"But they could be hurt Illidan!" Jaden interjected. "You should go check on them!"
Ignoring Jaden, Illidan continued concentrating on healing Marie instead. Seeing he was being ignored, Jaden got up and rushed over to Syrus's side. Examining him, he nodded with satisfaction and rushed over to Zane. Finding multiple wounds, he noted that blood was still leaking from some of his wounds.
"ILLIDAN, ZANE IS BADLY WOUNDED!" Jaden said in a panicked voice.
Still ignoring Jaden, Illidan only continued on focusing his powers on Marie. Growling loudly, Jaden ran over to Illidan and punched him in the temple with all of his strength. Illidan instantly rolled onto the ground away from Marie from the blow.
Getting up, Illidan angrily glared at Jaden, shouting "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!? CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO HEAL MARIE!?"
"YOU JERK, QUIT BEING SO SELF CENTERED AND REALIZE ZANE IS DYING! IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP AND CLOSE UP HIS WOUNDS, HE'LL BLEED TO DEATH!" Jaden angrily shot back.
Growling loudly, Illidan countered with "I don't give a damn about him Jaden! He nearly killed Marie! If I don't act quickly, Marie could die from her own wounds! She is my first and only priority at the moment!"
"You'd actually let Zane die to save Marie?" Jaden asked in total disbelief. Turning away from Illidan, Jaden coldly said "You're not the person I thought you were."
"And what does that mean!?" Illidan hotly asked.
Watching Jaden turn to face him, Illidan was slightly shocked to see a face full of anger and a hint of hatred in Jaden's eyes. He was shaking a bit, as if trying hard to keep from exploding. With clenched fists, he yelled "You know that Marie would never let Zane die!"
Sighing heavily, Illidan looked away towards the ground. "He's right... Marie would save anyone she could, even if it was her worst enemy."
"If you want to let Zane die, then fine, but understand that I will never forgive you for it!" Jaden angrily said, breaking Illidan from his thoughts. "And I know for a fact Syrus won't either! Do what you want Illidan, but you'll be the one that has to live with the guilt of knowing you could have saved him!"
Feeling ashamed of himself, Illidan sighed once more and walked towards Zane. Once past Jaden, he stopped with his back to Jaden. "I'm sorry. I was worried about Marie." he apologetically remarked.
Sighing himself, Jaden turned to Illidan's back and replied "It's alright. I just thought it was extremely cruel of you to save Marie, but not offer to lift a finger to save Zane's life."
"You're right though Jaden." Illidan admitted. "Marie would have saved him if she could. And I will do the same."
Moving forward, he kneeled down in front of Zane and began checking his wounds. After a moment, he summoned up his healing powers once more and began pouring waves of healing energy into Zane's body.
Nearly ten minutes after starting, Illidan stopped and motioned for Jaden to come to his side. Jaden obeyed and examined Zane's body.
"I've closed up his major injuries. He won't bleed out, but he still needs some healing. Jaden, I know this is kind of an odd time to learn, but I'm going to teach you how to heal him." Illidan calmly said.
Frowning, Jaden asked "How can I heal him? I thought the Shadow Powers of my Shadow Charm were limited?"
"True, but you are capable of healing a person. It's not that hard, once you get the hang of it of course." Illidan said with a small smile. "First, place your palms on Zane's chest."
Obeying, Jaden placed his palms flatly on Zane's chest and awaited instructions. "This next part is hard. You have to concentrate on changing your Shadow Magic from a destructive energy to a healing energy. The trick is you have to send out your Shadow Magic in very low levels. Once you do that, you'll slowly be able to change the energy into a healing wave. The waves will slowly heal a person. It takes lots of discipline to do this, just so you know."
"But I don't know if I can." Jaden protested.
Softly smiling, Illidan nodded, saying "I know, but you should try. It takes a certain knack to learn how to heal a person. Even though I was the one who taught Marie, it was much harder for me to learn to heal. In fact, it took me at least a few months to finally be able to heal simple scratches."
"Months!? I don't have months, and I don't want to hurt Zane either!" Jaden quickly said.
Smiling, Illidan nodded. "I know, but trust me, I know you can do this. Your Shadow Pendant should lower the level of your destructive wave, thus making it easier for you. You may not have the energy to heal him completely, but you can help at the least. Do you wish to try?"
Thinking for a moment, Jaden finally nodded. "Yes, I'll try. Anything to help him out."
"Good. Now, go ahead and try and pour out your Shadow Magic, but remember, send out weak energy. Then once you begin, try concentrating on turning them into healing waves." Illidan instructed.
Letting out a large sigh, Jaden began concentrating and slowly poured out small amounts of his energy. The energy slowly began to transform into a healing wave and washed over Zane's body. The wounds Illidan had already began healing began to continue closing, but very slowly.
"That's the way Jaden. If you could, keep doing that till you can't anymore. Don't push yourself too hard though."
Jaden lightly nodded, seemingly very deep in concentration. Standing up, Illidan went back to Marie's body and began healing her once more.
Nearly an hour after arriving, Illidan finally stopped healing her body. Panting lightly, he softly smiled, saying "Well, that's all I can do for now."
Glancing over at Jaden, he saw that he was still going at it, but was nearly drained. "Jaden, that's enough for now." he calmly said.
Stopping what he was doing, Jaden started panting hard, seemingly out of breath. He stood up, only to fall back down. Softly chuckling at him, Illidan got up and walked over to him, saying "You used a bit too much of your Shadow Powers I'm guessing."
"Possibly." Jaden mumbled between pants.
Looking the three fallen victims over, Illidan smoothly said "Let's get them back to the Academy."
Nodding, Jaden went to Syrus and picked him up and brought him over to where Zane laid while Illidan picked up Marie and moved to the same spot. Tossing Marie over one shoulder and Zane over his other, Illidan began the long trudge back to the Academy with Jaden trailing behind with Syrus on his back.