Hello everyone! Well, this week has been quiet since last time. My mate received a table that my step mom promised her yesterday, which made her happy… She got it so if we have company, we can go outside and sit at it. I simply commented that we never entertain people at our home, so why have the table? Lol, naturally, she said we could have people over, someday. I kind of just gave up on that discussion, knowing better to just shut up.
Writing wise, I'm getting a bit done on MtM, along with Another. Things are moving nicely for each, which is always a plus. The length of this story is up in the air, but it will be long enough I think. After all, me and ardee have made the chapters 5k or more in length always, so it is long in some ways.
Last time, Zane faced off with the Scottish National Champion, Darren. Darren seemed more than capable in using his Monarch Deck, giving Zane a run for his money and in the end, tying with the teacher. The question now is that the Sweet Sixteen duels are over, who will come out the tournament winner?
And now, it's time once more for the reviews! (/Cranks up some Death Note theme music for it.\) I know, strange…
x-knight20: Thanks. Yeah, poor Zane had it rough, but not too rough. Obviously, he doesn't let his tired state affect his dueling performance. Thanks for the review!
Aelsthla-Mental: Thanks. You are absolutely correct about Proto-Cyber Dragon's effect. It is treated as Cyber Dragon only when it is on the field, so the move I had Zane commit was illegal. I know, silly, lol. I was waiting for someone to catch that move actually. I had wrote that part up a while back and not noticed it till Tuesday when I was proofreading the chapter before I posted it. I had wrote that part back some time ago when I thought that the effect treated the Proto-Cyber Dragon always as Cyber Dragon. It was my mistake, and I just didn't fix it. Heh, I gave the rules a small tweak for it, hehe. But good catch, and I thank you for finding it. Yes, Bakura lost to Mai once more. Poor Bakura, he never seems to win, lol. Thanks for the review!
Nathan: Yep, he has done used Chaos Control. I'm sure the duel was tough enough to the point he needed to use that card. Glad you liked the duel between Zane and Darren. Yeah, it ended in a draw, mostly showing that Darren is stronger than most thought. True, Zane didn't lose any pride, nor did Darren lose any face, but he didn't prove himself either. Yep, the tournament should be fun, hehe. Thanks for the review.
Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks, and glad you liked the duel. Confused already are you? Patience young one, for the path to the dark side if full of questions. LOL! Sorry, couldn't resist trying to play Yoda, hehe. Been playing too much Star Wars Battlefront 2 with my mate lately, and he's on my mind (I got to play as him, making my mate jealous, lol). At any rate, yes, the final eight is set, but that doesn't mean things are over yet. There is more than meets the eye. (/Hears a transforming sound and Optimus Prime yelling "Roll out!"\) Yeah, I need mental help I think… But true, plots are sometimes meant to be confusing. I hope you like what is coming up. Thanks for the review!
Raymond Barrett: Thanks. Heh, that's Darren for you, he's just cocky and obnoxious as always. Glad you liked the Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door combo. I think you'll like what happens next. Thanks for the review!
Thank you everyone for sending in your reviews. I really do enjoy getting to answer them. And I really liked the responses I got for this chapter. Also, I'm glad when people catch my small mistakes I make in duels. I sometimes just don't realize what I've done till after I've posted, or I proofread the chapter before posting. Lol, sometimes I fix my mistakes, other times I just watch to see if anyone wishes to point them out, which is cool that people catch them. At any rate, I thank you all for your support. If anyone who hasn't posted a review yet wishes to ask a question or comment on the chapter, please, I do ask that you do. I would be more than happy to answer anything that doesn't give away the plot.
Btw, I should mention this. The character Darren was brought over from ardee, who did a great job with him. I really kind of like this character. So, special thanks to ardee for him.
Anyways, I think my work is done here for today. I hope you all like this chapter. I shall once more return on Tuesday, so till then, enjoy!
Chapter 6
Not disappointed by her defeat in the Sweet Sixteen Duels, but sad at the same time due that she wasn't going to have a chance any longer to win the Genex Tournament, Mariah quietly walked alone towards the lake near the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorm. Ever since the previous year, she had enjoyed strolls by the specific lake, which gave her an opportunity to glance towards the Obelisk Dorm itself, which seemed to always cheer her up regardless.
Her dream, which she had not shared with anyone, was to eventually become an Obelisk Blue Member, but till then, she was quite satisfied with being a Ra Yellow. Even though she had been lumped in with the Slifer Red Students the year before due that she was the youngest student the school had ever had, she hadn't minded. In only a year, her brilliant mind had easily gotten her promoted into the Ra Dorm, and the way things were going, she could achieve her goal before the end of her second year possibly, if not the beginning of her third.
Still, she that didn't mean she hated the Ra Dorm. She lightly chuckled at herself over her silly crush on a certain grey haired student in the Ra Dorm, but realized a dream of him and her getting together was pretty farfetched.
"I'm just a kid..." she sadly mused to herself.
Suddenly, she heard a small scream and went running in the direction of it. Without even realizing it, she was within the woods and out of sight of the dorms. She quickly found the source of the scream in the form of her roommate, Hinata. The girl was on her knees, panting heavily on the ground, with a man nearby.
The man had a Mohawk like haircut, a hard stone set face, large muscular biceps, and wore a black uniform that looked similar to the Duel Academy Blue uniforms, with the exception of two large dull grey metal shoulder pads that came over his chest that had a red and blue light on each side, with what looked like metal fangs protruding. On the man's belt was a Duel Disk that was centered in front of him.
Both the man and Hinata had apparently been dueling, and from what Mariah could tell, they were in some kind of Shadow Game.
"You lose girly." he arrogantly stated with a sneer.
Upon those words being said, Hinata's body began glowing with a bright orange glow, causing the girl to scream out in more pain. The glow shot out a stream of energy that shot into the air, into what looked like a blue shimmering portal overhead. With the energy gone, Hinata collapsed to the ground and passed out.
"Your energy was rather pathetic, but it shall do." he grumbled and began walking away.
Growling lowly, Mariah came out of her hiding place and yelled "Hey big shot, how about picking on someone your own size!"
Turning to see Mariah standing there, the man darkly chuckled. "Are you suggesting you will take me on?" he boasted.
"What, afraid of a kid?" Mariah shot back hotly.
Sneering, the man took his deck out and shuffled it. "I'll gladly take you on little girl. Your energy might be more like what I need. I can sense the Shadow Powers within you that are restless."
Shuffling her own deck, Mariah stuck it into it's slot on her Duel Disk. Noting the man took up his position, she quickly checked on Hinata. Checking with her Shadow Powers, Mariah let out a relieved sigh when she found Hinata had her soul still, but was just drained of her energy.
"Thank goodness." she mumbled in her mind. Glaring up at the man, she snarled in her mind "He'll pay for doing this to you Hinata. I swear it!"
Taking up a position in order to face the man, Mariah asked "Who are you, and why are you attacking the students?"
"I am not at liberty to say, but for now, call me Viper." the man smoothly said.
"Whatever." Mariah snapped back. "I'll make sure this is the last time you do that to a person."
"Bold words for such a runt." Viper teased.
Smirking, Mariah fired back "You won't be so bold once I take you down a few pegs!"
Activating their Duel Disks simultaneously, each drew five cards and shouted out "Game on!"
Picking up her sixth card, Mariah calmly said "I'll begin this little duel. I set a monster and once card face down. Let's see what you have big man." (Mariah 8000, Viper 8000)
Drawing his sixth card, Viper calmly set it into his left hand and said "You are a brave one, I shall give you that. Now then, this duel is much more than it looks. We are going to play a little Shadow Game!"
Without warning, the field darkened around the two till a small dome of dark energy surrounded the pair.
"This isn't a real Shadow Game." Mariah stated while examining the field. "If it was, it would feel much different, thus making me deduce that you don't want my soul."
"Very clever little girl." Viper smugly remarked. "This game is for your Duel Energy, and once it is over, it will be mine. Your memories will also be erased of this duel, as if it didn't happen."
Lightly growling, Mariah heatedly fired back "I won't lose!"
"We'll see soon enough, won't we?" Viper mocked. "I set a monster and end my turn." (Mariah 8000, Viper 8000)
Grabbing a new card, Mariah smirked and said "Bad move there. You should have gotten ready for me, because you'll pay for your carelessness. I flip my face down monster up, Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000)!"
The horizontal monster card instantly turned vertical and then rose up, revealing a monster card image. From the image, a man in black robes with a black turban that had tanned skin appeared. His robe had a few designs etched into it that mostly looked like upside down cursive L's on each side of it.
"With Gravekeeper's Spy flip summoned, I can activate his special ability. Now I'm allowed to special summon another 'Gravekeeper' from my deck to the field, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points. My choice is this, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000)!"
Searching her deck quickly, Mariah slapped the monster card to her Duel Disk. Immediately, a man with a set of black robes that had a green seam going down where the robe joined together, tanned skin, and a golden spear with a silver spear head appeared onto the field. He instantly brandished the spear towards Viper, seemingly threatening to do battle with him.
"Next up, I play my trap, Level Conversion Lab! With this, I'm forced to show you one monster from my hand. The one I'm showing you is this, Gravekeeper's Chief. Now then, I roll a die. If the result of the die is one, my monster goes to my Graveyard, but if it's anything else, that is my monster's new level! Let's find out what my monster's level will be!"
A die instantly appeared on the field and began rolling around. After nearly a minute, it finally came to rest on a three, making Mariah grin great big.
"It's a three, meaning Gravekeeper's Chief is a level three monster! Now I summon him to the field, so rise up Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200)!"
A man in white and black robes with a blue undershirt, a red sash belt, grey pants, with a black turban like hat appeared onto the field. His skin was tanned and he had a goatee. In his right hand was a golden staff with a cobra head on it.
"Finally, I activate the spell Quick Summon! This allows me to summon one more monster, and I choose my Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500)!"
Materializing instantly onto the field was a black robed figure that had a woman's form. Her head was covered by a hood so that only her eyes were revealed and in her right hand was a curved dagger.
"Now then, I activate the special ability of Gravekeeper's Commandment (1500/1500). I discard him to my Graveyard in order to bring the card known as Necrovalley into my hand."
Placing the monster card into her Graveyard Slot, Mariah watched the card be sucked down into her Graveyard. Once in, she pulled her deck out and searched through it till she finally found her card. Placing it in her hand, she lightly smirked.
"Alright, I activate the field spell Necrovalley!"
Holding her Duel Disk vertical, she tapped the end of her Duel Disk, causing a slot to shoot out. Placing the card within the slot, the Duel Disk instantly glowed. Immediately, the field began transforming into a valley with a setting sun at the end of it. Two rock walls made up the sides of the valley, with the bottom being made up of sand.
"Here, all Gravekeeper monsters gain 500 points (1200 + 500 1700/2000 + 500 2500) (1500 + 500 2000/1000 + 500 1500) (1900 + 500 2400/1200 + 500 1700) (1500 + 500 2000/1500 + 500 2000). Also, so long as my field spell is in play, no spell, trap, or monster effects that affect anything within our Graveyards is negated. Of course, with my Gravekeeper's Chief in play, I can target my Graveyard once more, but you can't target your own or mine."
Smirking a bit, she added "Time to level the field. Go Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, strike his monster with Grave Spear Srike!"
Leaping forward into action, the man with a spear drove his spear straight into the horizontal monster card image, shattering it and revealing a blue vase with orange spots and a single orange stripe near the top materialized onto the field. Without warning, a green cobra with a yellow underbelly slid out of the top of the jar with it's tongue flicking in and out.
Smirking, Viper calmly said "You just flipped up my Cobra Jar (600/300), which has a very sinister effect. Now that he was flipped up, I can special summon a Poisonous Snake Token (1200/1200) to the field, in which I place it in defense."
Appearing onto the field in a coiled up position was a green snake that looked like a cobra. It hissed lightly, as if showing it was a bit dangerous.
"That won't stop my Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier! Oh yeah, and before I forget, he has a special effect of his own! When he battles a monster in defense, he deals you damage equal to the difference in his attack points and your monster's defense points! In other words, you receive Trample damage!" Mariah exclaimed.
With ease, the robed warrior drove his spear through the green snake that hissed at him within the pot. The pot and snake all shattered, allowing the soldier to slash Viper across the chest with his spear, leaving a bloody slash mark that went straight through his clothing.
"You'll regret playing a Shadow Game with me. My family has always had strong Shadow Powers, so I know how it is to play one, while you seem to barely grasp the reality of this situation. Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack that token with Assailant Slash!"
Racing forward across the field, the female warrior instantly vanished into thin air, only to reappear right behind the snake creature.
"Oh yeah, I should let you know, my monster has a special ability also. When she attacks a monster, I can switch the mode of the monster she's attacking. With that said, I switch your token into attack mode, making it easy folly for Gravekeeper's Assailant!"
Viper could only lightly gasp in shock when his snake creature uncoiled itself. The dagger the female monster held instantly lengthened into a long sword. She instantly smirked underneath of her hood and slashed the snake in half, making it explode immediately.
Sneering at this, Viper called out "You may have destroyed my token, but it has a very deadly effect. Now it deals you 500 points of direct damage!"
Coming from the explosion instantly was the head half of the green snake that had just been slashed. Rushing forward, it sank it's fangs into Mariah's right leg, making her scream out in pain. The snake soon vanished, but the fang marks revealed a small bit of blood dripping out of the wound.
"You'll pay for that." Mariah coldly stated. "Gravekeeper's Spy and Gravekeeper's Chief, direct attack with Spy Shot and Chief's Judgment!"
The black robed weaker man instantly pulled a telescope out of his robe and glanced down it at Viper. The end of the telescope instantly began gathering energy and finally fired a blast of dark red energy. The blast struck Viper head on, making him howl in pain. Unwilling to let that be all the pain he felt, the black and white robed main turned his right palm towards Viper and fired a blast of dark red energy as well. The blast struck Viper hard again, making him cringe in pain.
"I place one card face down and end my turn. You're finished next turn Viper." Mariah stated. (Mariah 7500, Viper 1400)
Bursting out loud laughing, Viper drew his next card. Shocked at his behavior, Mariah asked "What's so funny? You're about to lose, yet you laugh?"
"You are a fool girl. This duel has all been too easy for me. Watch as I reveal your demise!" Viper remarked. "I play the spell Snake Rain! With this, I must discard one card from my hand, so I pick my Sinister Serpent."
Placing the monster card into his Graveyard Slot, Viper grinned evilly and said "With that in my Graveyard, I can now use Snake Rain's effect. I am allowed to toss out four Reptile Type monsters from my deck to my Graveyard."
Pulling his deck out, Viper examined it for a moment before picking four cards. Placing his deck back into it's slot, he showed Mariah the four cards. "The four I pick are these, Venom Cobra, Venom Snake, Venom Serpent, and Venom Boa. All four now go to my Grave."
One by one, the four cards were sucked into his Graveyard Slot, making Mariah frown deeply at his actions. "Why toss out four monsters? It makes no sense. Not like he can use anything to bring them back, so why dump them?"
Interrupting her thoughts, Viper called out "Next I play the spell Painful Choice! With this, I select five cards from my deck. You then get to select one of them for me to keep."
Once more pulling his deck out, Viper fanned it out and selected five cards. Upon picking them, he slapped them all onto his Duel Disk, revealing them to Mariah while he placed his deck back into it's slot.
Examining the five cards, Mariah frowned once more. "Four of those cards are the same four he sent to his Graveyard with his Snake Rain. Why send another four? And the last card is a spell. I don't think it'll help him, but I'm unsure... I'll pick it and hope for the best."
"I pick your Venom Shot spell card." Mariah coolly said.
Smirking great big, Viper nodded and picked up the four remaining cards and slid them into his Graveyard Slot. Placing the other card into his hand, he confidently said "Nice choice. Now then, I activate Graceful Charity! This spell let's me draw three cards, but I must toss out two when I'm done."
Grabbing three new cards, Viper examined them for a moment before picking out two and saying "I toss out these two, my Venom Serpent and Venom Snake."
Brow furrowing once more, Mariah pondered on Viper's strategy. "He keeps tossing out good monsters, but why? None of them can help him as long as my Necrovalley is in effect... So why go to all the trouble of tossing out monsters like that?"
Laughing at Mariah's scrunched up face, Viper mockingly asked "Confused at my moves girl? Well, you should be. After all, it's not something that you'd think a normal person would do, but I'm not normal you see. I have a strategy to defeat you and take your Duel Energy, so don't think that you can even figure out what I'm doing. Now then, I activate the spell Reasoning! With this, you must pick out a monster level. Once you have guessed, I get to pick up cards till I find a monster. All other cards are tossed out till I find one. If it's the level you declared, that monster is tossed out, but if it's a different level, I get to special summon that card, if it's possible to. So then, what is the level you shall guess?"
Somewhat afraid of guessing wrong, Mariah took a deep breath. "Calm down. Getting nervous and not picking the right level won't help you. Just approach this rationally. Thus far, he's only had level one, three, four, and five monsters tossed out. He had a level two monster, but it's highly unlikely that it or level one is what he'll draw. I saw mostly level four in the ones he tossed out, meaning he more than likely he only has a few level four monsters left. Still, if I had to guess, I'd think four was the best bet. I'll do it, I'll guess level four."
"I pick level four." Mariah confidently remarked.
Sneering, Viper coolly replied "A wise choice, but will it be the right level? Let's find out!"
Picking up his first card, Viper calmly said "It is a trap, so it's going to my Graveyard."
Nonchalantly, he placed it in the Graveyard and drew his next card, revealing it to be a spell. He once more repeated the process of dumping the card and drawing, only to reveal another spell. Two more cards later, Viper drew a card and smirked evilly upon showing it to Mariah.
"This card is a monster, but it's not level four. It is level eight, so arise Vennominon the King of Poisonous Snakes (0/0)!" Viper declared.
Slowly, rising up onto the field was a creature with a golden helmet shaped like a snake with a face that had a green mask that covered all but his mouth. On his shoulders was a green set of robes that looked like a snakes head. On each shoulder was a golden snake facing one another, and a dark pink cape draped down his back. His arms and hands were made up of numerous snakes, each hissing loudly. Below his waist, a black robe stood open, revealing a green snake tail with a white underbelly. The creature let out a small snicker, as if mocking the monsters on the field.
Confused, Mariah asked "A level eight monster with zero attack points?"
"He is much more than he seems my dear child." Viper interjected. "Vennominon may not look like much, but he is very powerful, I assure you of that. I activate Vennominon's special ability. You see, for each Reptile Type monster in my Graveyard, his royal highness gains 500 attack points."
Gasping in shock, Mariah quickly did the math in her head of the monsters that went into Viper's Graveyard and realized the depth of trouble she was in. Sneering at her shocked look, Viper continued on and said "Right now, I have twelve Reptile Type monsters in my Graveyard, meaning my Vennominon has 6000 attack points (0 + 500 12 6000/0)!"
Mariah could only watch in horror while the snake king creature's black aura began to flare up. He screamed out with a smirk on his face while his power increased greatly beyond anything Mariah had ever seen, with exception of her uncle and aunt in duels with her parents. Fear suddenly sunk in, making her cower a bit.
"He played me for a fool, and I let him lead me into it. With all of my monsters out in attack mode, I'm a sitting duck!"
Taking a deep breath, Mariah slowly calmed herself. Closing her eyes, she softly smiled and said "No, this duel isn't over yet. I still have monsters that can stop him. I just have to be patient, that's all. Besides, he can't wipe me out this turn anyways."
"I hope you weren't counting on hanging on till the end of this turn." Viper interjected, making Mariah reopen her eyes.
Calmly, she replied "This duel isn't over. You can't beat me this turn."
Sneering at this, Viper smugly said "You are so wrong about that theory little girl. By now I'd think you'd not underestimate me, but I see I'm wrong. It's time I delivered the final blow, and what better a card to do it with than this one!"
Flipping the card to show Mariah, Viper once more sneered at her reaction. Seeing the card, her eyes widened and she gasped aloud in complete shock.
"I take it you've seen this before then. Yes, this powerful equip spell card shall be what turns this duel around for me." Viper boasted. "I activate Megamorph, and equip it to Vennominon, meaning his attack points are now doubled (6000 2 12000/0)!"
Immediately, the snake king creature's body began glowing with a dark aura. It flared up greatly and spread out a good bit, making the robed monsters on Mariah's field shrink back in fear.
Seeing the snake king creature grow stronger, Mariah sank to her knees. Looking downwards, she mumbled "It's over…"
"I underestimated him, and now I'll pay the price."
Glancing over at her fallen roommate, she mumbled in her mind "I'm so sorry Hinata that I couldn't avenge you and stop this guy. I was a fool to think I could out think him so easily. Now we've both lost, and it's my fault."
"Farewell you brat! Vennominon, destroy her pathetic Gravekeeper's Chief with Fanged Venom!" Viper commanded.
--
Softly walking along with Marie nearby him, Illidan continued to glance around. The day had been a good day for his students, along with himself and Marie. Both of them had fought their way into the Sweet Sixteen Duels for the Genex Tournament and won them, allowing them to move onto the next round, but that had not surprised him too much. After all, both Marie and he were excellent duelists, and it only figured to him that the two of them would get this far in the tournament.
The two were out on their nightly patrol of the campus as always. They had begun the patrol a few days after they had arrived, mostly checking the island for the mysterious assailant that preyed on the students. Thus far, neither had sensed anything out of the ordinary, like always.
"Illidan, I think we're wasting our time like always. Perhaps we should go back home." Marie calmly said.
"Not yet." he replied. "Something's up, I know it. I can feel it in my bones. I've had a weird feeling all day that something was wrong, and it's still there."
Sighing, Marie grumbled lowly "You and your damn feelings are giving me a headache."
Lightly chuckling at the thought that she thought he hadn't heard her, Illidan continued onwards. Finally, he suddenly felt something, and realized what it was.
"Feel that Marie!?" he asked with a touch of worry.
Reaching out with her own senses, she noted what he was talking about. "That's a Shadow Game of some kind, that much is for sure. I can sense two people in it, with a third nearby, but the third is unconscious."
"Me too." Illidan remarked while focusing his senses on the weaker of the two energies he felt. Suddenly, realization hit his face and he began running towards the source.
Marie couldn't keep up with him, which he knew would happen, but continued on nonetheless. "This is bad, very bad! Mariah is the person this nut job is targeting. I'd recognize her energy anywhere! I have to hurry and save her before it's too late!"
For less than ten minutes, Illidan ran faster than he thought possible. He soon came to the Obelisk Blue Dorm and saw the lake. Just beyond the tree line, he could feel the Shadow Magic in the air. Rushing towards the spot, he finally got within hearing range and heard someone.
"Farewell you brat! Vennominon, destroy her pathetic Gravekeeper's Chief with Fanged Venom!"
It was a man's voice that Illidan heard, but didn't recognize it. He burst into a small clearing where he saw Mariah sitting on her knees, her head hung downwards. She had four monsters out, all which he identified quickly within his mind. He also noted she had her field spell in play. Glancing at the man's field, he saw that the man only had one monster, which was attacking at that moment.
The snake king creature aimed his five snake like fingers at the man in black and white robes and released a stream of purple liquid. The liquid struck home on the white robed man, shattering him instantly, while the remainder of the blast struck Mariah hard, knocking her backwards into the black translucent barrier that surrounded her and the man.
"MARIAH!" Illidan screamed while rushing forward towards her. Along the way, he noted Hinata nearby and softly growled.
"He attacked both of them. I bet he took Hinata on first and then fought Mariah. Damn him!" he cursed in his mind.
The blast finally ended, allowing Mariah to be released. After a moment, she curled up into a fetal position and her body instantly glowed with an orange aura. The aura flared up and shot a beam of energy into the sky, into what looked like a blue shimmering portal. Once the energy beam had finished, the aura vanished and Mariah passed out. Upon doing so, the barrier vanished, allowing Illidan to arrive at her side.
Carefully turning her onto her back, he checked her vitals, finding they were normal. Closing his eyes, he called upon his Shadow Powers to check her soul, only to find it was still intact within her body. Letting out a sigh of relief, Illidan stood up and glared at the man before him.
"Who are you!? And why did you do this!?" he demanded.
The man only sneered and said "I have what I wanted from that girl. Her Duel Energy was much richer than that other pathetic girl there."
"I ASKED WHO YOU A QUESTION! WHO ARE YOU!?" Illidan snarled, furious over the man ignoring the question.
"If you want to find out, why don't you follow me?" was the only response Illidan got before the man ran off.
Clenching his fists tightly, Illidan felt torn over going after the man and over taking care of Mariah. Luckily for him, about this time, Marie finally came running into the clearing, somewhat out of breath. Coming up to his side, she noted the fallen Mariah and Hinata and softly gasped at the two.
"Two of them?" she questioned. "What's going on?"
"No time to really explain Marie. I just saw the guy that attacked them and I have a chance to stop him I think. Can you handle things here!?" Illidan quickly asked.
"I guess, but shouldn't I go…"
"NO! Stay with the girls and get them some help if you can! I'll bring that guy down, no matter what!" Illidan stated with a touch of anger in his voice.
Worry instantly filled her eyes and she quickly said "Come back to me and Arya, ok?"
Turning to smile softly at her, Illidan nodded. "I promise I will." he calmly vowed.
Walking over to her, he placed a chastising kiss on her lips and smiled once more. "Don't worry, I'll return." he confirmed. "I love you."
"I love you too. Go on, he's getting away." Marie commented.
Nodding, Illidan turned and began running in the direction of the man had. Watching Illidan leaving the area, Marie softly whispered to herself "Stay safe my love."
--
After a few minutes of hard running, Illidan began making out the image of the man ahead of him. He hadn't been running too hard apparently, but when he noted Illidan was coming, he picked up his pace a bit more.
"GET BACK HERE!" Illidan screamed after the man running ahead of him, who ignored him once more.
The two were running at a rather vigorous pace towards the part of Duel Academy Island that was not really inhabited. It was secluded, with no one hardly ever setting foot within the area due that it was off limits.
Finally entering into a clearing, the man that had been running stopped and turned to face Illidan. Stopping a few feet away, Illidan glared at the stranger. In better light, he could now see the man had a Mohawk like haircut, much like his friend Tristan, a hard stone set face, large muscular biceps, and wore a black uniform that looked similar to the Duel Academy Blue uniforms, with the exception of two large dull grey metal shoulder pads that came over his chest that had a red and blue light on each side, with what looked like metal fangs protruding. On the man's belt was a Duel Disk that was on his right side.
Sneering at Illidan, the man coolly said "I'm impressed that you kept up with me. I'd have guessed you'd drop out after the first mile."
"I'm not so easy to lose." Illidan calmly remarked while glaring angrily at the man. "Who are you, and why have you been taking energy from duelists!?"
"You're a curious one, now aren't you?" the man taunted, making Illidan lightly growl. "I guess since you kept up with me and followed me back here, I have no choice but to explain myself. My name is Thelonius Viper, and I am here to collect Duel Energy for my Master."
"What purpose could your master have for this Duel Energy!?" Illidan angrily asked.
Sneering, Viper replied "That is something that only he knows. I only obey my Master in order to receive my payment."
"What possible payment would be worth the suffering of these young people here!?" Illidan furiously asked.
"Why, the revival of my son of course. Once I defeat you, I shall have completed my task and my Master will have all the energy he needs. He has promised me the payment of reviving my son, and life shall once more be complete." Viper explained.
Growling lowly, Illidan venomously snapped back "Harming these students is not worth it! You could seriously injure or kill them if you're not careful! I won't allow you to do this anymore! You're going to pay for all those students you hurt, especially for Mariah!"
"Ah, that girl meant something to you, eh?" Viper teased.
Clenching his fists, Illidan glared at Viper and replied "She is my niece, and I will not allow you to get away with the harm you caused her."
"Then come and make me pay Illidan. The angrier you are the more rich your Duel Energy shall be when I take it from you." Viper remarked.
Holding his arm out and jamming his deck into his Duel Disk, Illidan powered it up and growled out "Shut up and activate your Duel Disk so I can put an end to this!"
"Don't you hush me!" Viper snapped back while pressing a button on his belt buckle. Instantly, his Duel Disk moved out from his right hip and slid over till it was directly in front of him. The two lights on his shoulders glowed to life, along with the rest of the Duel Disk.
At the same time, both picked up five cards, with each saying "Game on!"