Hey everyone! Well, this past weekend wasn't too bad. Saturday, me and my mate went and saw a play that my coworker was in. I had been helping him rehearse his lines for weeks, so I got to see the final product. The play was called "Teahouse of the August Moon," and was rather hilarious. It was a comedy, obviously, lol, which takes place after WW2 on the island of Okinawa. If no one has seen the movie, or ever heard of the play, I definitely recommend it. My coworker played the part of Captain Fisby, who did an excellent job. At any rate, again, I encourage people to go see it. Moving on, after the play, I determined late that night that I have a sinus infection due to the sore throat, stuffy nose, and just general yuckiness. Stupid sinuses… Sunday I stayed in bed for the most part, trying to recoup my strength, which worked I suppose. I felt well enough to go to work yesterday, and today, I feel decent, but not at 100 still yet. Maybe 65-70, but that's it. I'm nearly well, but not quite. My sore throat is gone, but I still have a lot of mucus in my chest, that much is certain. Other than that, I'm recovering, so yay. Also, I received an early birthday gift from my mate, in the form of both Lego's Star Wars games! The first is pretty awesome. Now if only I could keep from killing my mate when we play together, lol. Me and Jedi seem to equal problems between the two of us, lol. I have no lightsaber control apparently, hehe. Anyways, it's a fun game, and I'm looking forward to playing more.
Writing wise, I finished up a piece in Another, which I'm so thankful for. I'm to the point in it again that I can write on it once more at work if I so choose (before, on the part I was working on, I couldn't (wouldn't) do it at work). As for MtM, it's still moving along nicely too. Things are going good on it thus far, so I'm happy with that.
Last time, Illidan and Viper continued to wage battle, with Viper seemingly gaining the upper hand at long last. Now with Vennominaga out, the question is, will Illidan be able to survive the serpent's wrath, or will he taste her deadly venom?
Wow, the reviews are so great on this story! Thank you all for sending them in, and for those that have added this to their favs and alerts. I appreciate it. And without further ado, it's Review Time!
Okami Princess: Yeah, Illidan nearly had Viper with DMoC and Cyber End Dragon, only to come up short. Of course, now with Vennominaga out, things are going to get interesting. Illidan may kick that snakes butt this chapter, but you never know. Heh, a story on Arya, eh? Never know, it may happen, but I'm still unsure what I'm going to do once I finish up with this series and Another. I'm still undecided, but I've had offers on writing on other stories with ardee and a few others, but I've not made any decisions yet. I'm still up in the air on what to do, especially since I have other story ideas. We'll see. As for doing it in the 5D's style, eh, I don't know. I'm not too sold on the idea yet, but you never know with me, lol. Thanks for the review!
x-knight20: Thanks. Yep, the powerhouse snake is on the field. True, it is a hard card to beat. Really, it's pretty indestructible, but only if you have enough Reptile Type monsters in the Graveyard. If not, she's a joke. Thanks for the review!
Aelsthla-Mental: Actually, Burial from a Different Dimension is a quick play spell in real life, much like the show. I didn't cheat with that card, hehe. True, Illidan could have removed Vennominon from the game with BLS, but BLS would have gotten weaker, plus, Viper wouldn't have lost as many life points. Not to mention, that puts a snag in the plot, lol. Eh, you never know, he may have to resort to Chaos Control to win this game. Very true, Vennominaga is immune to everything but battle, which makes her hard to bring down. Time is most definitely on Illidan's side, but you know Illidan, he'll fight to the bitter end. Thanks for the review!
Ultimate Legendary Master: Thanks. Yep, the final stretch is coming up. Who is Viper's master you ask? Hmm, could be Yubel, could be someone else also. Never know who may have sent him. I know, haha, quit playing the "I don't know" game when I really know, lol. It's cool about my step grandfather. He had a really good life, and was a lot of fun to talk with at times. He was rather friendly. In a way, I felt closer to him than his wife, but then again, I never talked to her much. Thanks for the review!
Nathan: Lol, yes, Illidan attacked with BLS. I know, he could have ended it all then and there, but Illidan decided to chop Viper down instead. Like I said before, it would cause plot problems for him to remove Vennominon from play. More like make the duel that much longer… True, Illidan has to deal with Vennominaga now, which could be a problem. You never know, he may do something dramatic to win, lol. Thanks for the review!
Raymond Barrett: Thanks. True, it will be interesting to see Illidan facing off with the powerful Vennominaga, which can only be defeated in battle. We'll see how he does soon enough. Thanks for the review!
Vyser Dragoon: Original cards are fun, but I hate to bend the game around to my own desires really. If I can play fairly in a duel, I will, but if it calls for it, I will make cards, hehe. Yep, Roxas used the D-Heros instead of Aster. Heh, I kind of followed my own storyline in the previous story before I found out there was a second season. Silly me, I know. Glad you liked the story, and hope you continue to enjoy this one. Thanks for the review!
Well, that's it for the reviews for today. Wow, it seems to get longer and longer. I'm not complaining, not one bit, just surprised I guess, lol. I really enjoy responding to each of the reviews, and thoroughly like reading each. Thank you all for sending them in. I look forward each time I post a chapter to reading each one, so thank you again. And to anyone who has any comments or questions on this story, or any of my others, please, don't hesitate to post a review. I will always give you some kind of answer to a question. Of course, I won't reveal the plot, but I'll try and answer the question or comment to the best of my abilities.
At any rate, I'm done for today. I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Picking up a card with absolute calmness, Viper examined it and evilly smirked. "It is time I showed you what my snake deity can do! Vennominaga, attack his pathetic mage with Venom Vapor Blast!"
Stretching her right snake headed arm out, the snake deity shot it straight forward, with it hissing loudly and snapping it's mouth open and shut.
With only a moment to spare, Illidan pointed at a face down card and heatedly called out "Don't think so Viper! I play the trap Magic Cylinder!"
Appearing before the blue skinned mage were two pink barrels with yellow question marks and some yellow designs on the tips. Both open ends were pointed back towards Viper.
"With Magic Cylinder, I get to negate your attack and then your monster's attack points are deducted from your life points! Game over Viper!" Illidan confidently explained.
Sneering, Viper wryly replied "Not quite there Illidan. I neglected to tell you one of Vennominaga's special abilities. You see, she is a deity, thus she is unaffected by spell, trap, or monster effects, meaning your pitiful Magic Cylinder doesn't effect her!"
Watching in complete shock, Illidan saw the blue snake that had been approaching go flying straight through the first barrel, shattering it completely. It then wrapped it's body around the black armored mage and bit down into the mage's neck. The mage could only gasp in shock while black blood began to spew out of his mouth and his eyes dulled. At long last, the mage exploded, leaving the snake in the air.
"Dark Magician of Chao…" Illidan mumbled with heavy sadness in his voice. "I'm so sorry my friend. I never wanted something like that to happen to you."
Without warning, he noted something pass by him on his right side. He was about to look when suddenly the blue snake that had destroyed his mage bit down onto his right shoulder. He immediately screamed out in pain while the snake finally released it's hold and slithered back to snake deity.
Clutching his wound, Illidan suddenly felt dizzy and sank to his knees while pain racked throughout his body. Sweat began forming all over his body, with it feeling like it was on fire, and his breathing became a bit more labored.
"What is this!? My body feels like it's on fire, it's getting harder to breath, and my vision is getting blurry. What in the hell is happening to me!?"
"What's the matter Illidan, not feeling well?" Viper taunted, instantly bringing him out of his thoughts. "I'm sure you're wondering what's happening to yourself right about now. Well, I shall explain it for you. You see, Vennominaga has a very devastating special ability when she deals you Battle Damage. She gets to add a special counter to herself known as a Hyper Venom Counter. When she has three, I win the duel automatically."
Sneering, he added "But in a Shadow Game like this one that we're playing, if she strikes you three times, her deadly poison will kill you. The first strike will weaken your body, causing dizziness, pain, shortness of breath, etc. The next one will only intensify, if not add more, ailments, but the last will be the one that fully kills you. When the last dose of her venom enters your body, it will shut down due that the venom will eat you inside out. You have a fitting end to look forward to."
Trembling a bit, Illidan growled lowly and forced himself to his feet once more. "I won't fall to you in this duel." he gruffly shot back with a raspy voice.
Laughing loudly, Viper sneered and replied "We shall soon see, won't we? I place this face down and move to my End Phase, in which your pathetic dragon gets weaker (3500 – 500 3000/2800)."
Another oozing blue snake instantly leapt out of the crimson liquid below the dragon and wrapped around one of it's two remaining heads. Selecting one, the snake instinctively sank it's fang's into the dragon, making it let out a low mechanical cry of pain.
"I end my move." (Illidan 2000, Viper 3100)
Lightly panting still, Illidan began to draw his card, but noted when he was trying how exhausted he was. After a moment, he finally drew his card, but the seriousness of the situation began to weigh heavily on his mind.
"Not good, most definitely not good. The poison is working it's way through my body and making me so much weaker than before. I have to figure out how to get rid of it. Even though I have healing powers, they won't be able to remove the poison from my body. I'll just have to tough this out."
Letting out a small ragged breath, Illidan closed his eyes. Instantly, an image of Marie looking at him with love reflecting in his eyes appeared. Taking a deep breath, Illidan calmed himself. "I will survive this duel. I promised Marie to never leave her alone again, and I aim to keep my promise, no matter what. I won't leave her and Arya alone in this world, no matter what Viper has planned for me!"
Reopening his eyes a bit refreshed, Illidan examined his new card. "I place this face down and switch Cyber End Dragon to defense. With that, I'll move to my End Phase in which your field spell takes a few more of my dragon's points away (3000 – 500 2500/2800)"
Jumping up out of the crimson liquid upon these words was a blue oozing snake that immediately latched onto the machine dragon's remaining free head. With it's fangs already sunk in, the snake coiled tightly around the dragon, seemingly squeezing it.
"Your move." (Illidan 2000, Viper 3100)
Drawing a card with a sneer on his face, Viper placed the card simply into his left hand and pointed at his face down card. "I play my trap, Zero Gravity! Now all of our monsters switch their modes to the opposite of whatever they're in. That means your dragon goes to attack mode."
Moving out of it's defensive stance, the machine dragon extended it's wings and let out a warning growl. Illidan could only grunt out with irritation.
"Of course, Vennominaga is unaffected by my trap due to her special ability. Now, Vennominaga, give that dragon something to really growl about! Venom Vapor Blast!"
Raising her left arm, the snake deity sent it racing forward with it snapping it's jaws open and closed rapidly. The snake easily went sailing straight through the three headed machine dragon, causing a massive explosion with a large plume of smoke.
"Where, oh where could my Vennominaga come from this time Illidan?" Viper smugly asked. "She could strike you from any direction."
Coughing lightly from the smoke, Illidan kept glancing around, looking for the snake that struck him the previous time. Without warning, the snake sank it's fangs into his left side, making Illidan gasp in shock and cry out at the same time from the sudden pain.
With the smoke clearing, Viper smugly said "Looks like you found it finally."
Upon that being said, the snake released it's hold while Illidan fell to his knees. Unable to hold himself up on his knees alone, he sank to his hands as well. He breathing was very labored, with some rasps coming out. Without warning, he coughed loudly and spat up a large pool of blood. Sitting up onto his knees weakly once more, he used his right hand to wipe the blood off of the corner of his lip before suddenly spitting up another large pool.
Laughing loudly at Illidan, Viper pointed at him and said "You are pathetic! Why my Master fears you, I don't know. I know this much though, you are going to die on my next turn. Prepare yourself for your final turn Illidan. I end my move, so come and accept your death." (Illidan 200, Viper 3100)
Weakly, Illidan attempted to stand, only to fall back onto his knees panting heavily. "It hurts so much to just breath, but it's agony to even attempt to stand." he mumbled in his mind.
"You will never win this duel Illidan Stormrage! What you fight for is nothing compared to me!" Viper stated.
"What do you fight for that's worth hurting everyone?" Illidan weakly asked.
Smirking, Viper remarked "My son's life. He deserves better than what happened to him."
Clenching his right fist, Viper added "When I was still a soldier, I went on a mission to a foreign land. There, in the rubble of a building, I found a baby that was abandoned. His parents' bodies were buried within the rubble, so I took it upon myself to save the child. I took him home with me and raised him up, naming him Rick. He grew to be quite an energetic young boy. When he was old enough, I gave him a deck for his birthday."
Eyes misting a bit, Viper softly said "He was so happy that I remembered what he wanted and was so eager to duel me. I had work, so I told him once I got home we would duel. I told him to be good and listen to his nanny and take care of his cards. He of course said he would, but about that time, a strong gust of wind blew his cards away. Rick desperately tried to catch them, but failed to notice he was in the street. At that time, a large truck was coming down the street and hit him. Had I been faster, I could have saved him, but alas, I wasn't and he died due that I failed to protect him."
Returning a glare to Illidan, Viper snarled "That's why I must defeat you! My Master has promised to return my one and only son to me once I complete this task. With your life, you shall revive my son. Feel gracious that you will be giving your soul for such a noble act."
Slowly, Illidan managed to stand on trembling legs. Wiping some of the blood off of his mouth with the back of his hand, he slowly said "I am truly sorry for you losing your son like that. It was a tragedy that should never have to have happened. I know if I lost my own daughter, the pain would be beyond anything this world or the next could give me."
Pausing for a moment, he closed his eyes. "Still…"
Reopening them with a look of anger in them, he sternly added "I cannot forgive you for what you have done to these students. None of them deserved what you have done to them. For their sake, I will stop you, once and for all!"
Darkly chuckling, Viper raised an eyebrow and asked "How so Illidan? You have nothing on your field other than a face down. Your opposition is a monster who is unaffected by spell, trap, and monster effects, meaning you are out of options. Just surrender and let your last moments be that of peace."
"Feh, my life is anything but peace." Illidan muttered with a smirk. Feeling a small tremble in his left leg, he smacked it lightly, making it relax. "I have a daughter who is intent on keeping me and my wife from having any alone time together, and that has shown signs that her Shadow Powers are developing. Then there is my wife, who I love dearly, but have thoughts of killing due to her inability to let go of our daughter for a moment, not to mention who can't cook either. There are students who sometimes grate on my nerves, along with all these foolish Pro Duelists who think they're the best."
Dripping with heavy sarcasm, he added "And to top it all off, I have to deal with a nutcase snake charmer, who wants to revive his dead son by nearly killing all of my students."
"Mock me all you want, but it will not get you any closer to winning this duel. Just admit it Illidan, you're finished." Viper remarked.
Lightly chuckling, Illidan replied "I've heard that before."
Closing his eyes, he moved his hand to the top card on his deck. Fingering it, he saw an image of Marie with tears streaming down her face came into his mind. It was the day that he had lost that one duel and was sent to the Shadow Realm by Legato.
"You were gone when I came to, and I thought I had lost you forever! Please, don't ever leave me again!" she had wailed.
Softly smiling, he remembered his plain answer. "I won't, I promise."
He had made the same promise once again not long after she had Arya. Upon her birth, he pledged to never leave Marie and Arya, no matter what happened.
Steeling his resolve, he opened his eyes and drew his card. Examining it, he smirked. "I activate the spell Magical Stone Excavation. This forces me to discard two cards from my hand, and allows me to return one spell from my Graveyard to my hand. I'll toss out Fusion Recovery and Tsukuyomi, and return Pot of Greed."
Placing both cards into his Graveyard Slot, Illidan patiently watched while the two were sucked in. Finally gone, the slot glowed lightly and his one spell card returned from it. Picking it up, he turned it to Viper, saying "I play Pot of Greed, meaning two new cards for me!"
Grabbing the top two cards on his deck, he smirked and said "The end is coming for you Viper. I play my trap, Call of the Haunted, allowing me to return to the field one monster from my Graveyard. I pick the beginning of your end, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!"
Rematerializing onto the field upon this declaration was the soldier in black shiny armor once more.
"Time to summon the end of your beginning! I remove from play Tsukuyomi and Silent Magician LV4 in order to summon Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000/2500)!"
Appearing onto the field with a massive roar was a black dragon with massive wings, powerful arms, legs, and a tail, and a orange mane of hair on it's head. Letting out another mighty roar, the dragon took up position beside of the black armored warrior.
"Pathetic Illidan." Viper mocked. "You waste your time with two monsters that have not enough strength to take on Vennominaga. Very disappointing."
Smirking at this, Illidan held up a card and replied "True, neither have the strength alone to slay your snake, but I'm about to change that. I've never had a chance to play this card till now, and I must say, I'm excited about playing it."
"What card?" Viper asked with irritation.
Revealing the card, Illidan placed it into his Spell/Trap Slot, causing a holo image of the card to appear before him. "I play the spell Chaos Fusion! This card acts like Polymerization, but works only on my Chaos monsters. Now I can fuse together monsters on my field with the word 'Chaos' or 'Envoy' in it together. So, I fuse Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning with Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End to create…"
Both the powerful warrior and the black dragon took to the air upon this command. In the air, a blinding black light flooded the field, obscuring the monsters from view. The light grew in brightness for a moment before descending to the field. Slowly, the light faded, revealing the powerful black dragon with an orange mane with the warrior in black armor on it's back. The warrior swung his sword out to the right and took up an offensive stance while the black dragon roared.
"… my newest Chaos monster! Meet Chaos Emperor Knight – Envoy of Demise (3500/3000)!" Illidan proudly declared.
Staring at the new monster, Viper began to chuckle lowly. "Your monster is impressive Illidan, but unfortunately for you, it is no match for Vennominaga!"
"Think so?" Illidan challenged. "Then you won't mind when I tell you my new monster's effect. You see, when he's first summoned, the number of monsters that were removed from play to summon each of the two halves of my fusion monster are counted up. I removed four to special summon the material monsters. Now I take that total and multiply it by 500, which is how many attack points my monster gains (3500 + 500 4 5500/3000)!"
Instantly, the large dragon with the warrior on it's back let out a mighty roar while the warrior raised his sword and let out a loud yell. The two each glowed with a bright white energy, each seemingly growing stronger than before.
"Fifty-five-hundred attack points!" Viper shouted with wide eyes.
Turning a hand towards the snake deity, Illidan called out "That's right, and my monster is about to unleash all of them on your Vennominaga! Go, blast that snake away with Chaos Stream!"
Letting out a massive roar, the black dragon opened it's jaws and began to build up black energy in it's mouth. Meanwhile, on the dragon's back, the soldier's sword began glowing with white energy. Simultaneously, the dragon shot out a stream of black energy while the soldier fired a white energy stream. The two streams soon twisted together and merged into a spinning solid stream of energy. The new stream drilled into the snake deity, making it howl out in pain before shattering. The remainder of the blast struck Viper hard in the chest, making him scream out in agony before falling to one knee.
Panting on the ground heavily, Viper sneered and arrogantly said "Not bad Illidan Stormrage, but it's all in vain! I play my Vennominaga's special ability! Now I can remove one of her loyal worshippers from my Graveyard and bring her back to the field."
Holding his hand over his Graveyard Slot, Viper waited for a monster card to slide out. Once it did, he placed it into his removed from play slot. Instantly, the snake deity that had just been destroyed revived onto the field with a hiss.
"And like before, Vennominaga regains her attack points (0 + 500 7 3500/0)!" Viper declared.
Chuckling at this, Illidan smirked and said "Good thing that my monster has another special ability then. Whenever I calculated the number of monsters that had been removed from play earlier, that was so that my monster's second effect could kick in. I take the total I had earlier and divide that by two, and that's the number of times my Chaos Emperor Knight can attack. Last count, I had four, meaning I can attack twice in a turn."
Viper stared wide eyed at Illidan upon this declaration. Seeing it, Illidan lightly sighed and said "Farewell Viper. Finish it now Chaos Emperor Knight. Attack his snake with Chaos Stream!"
Letting out a another stream of black energy, the dragon fired it's blast while the soldier fired a stream of white energy from his sword. The two merged once more and bore through the snake deity, sending her into eternal bliss while the remainder of the blast struck Viper. Howling out in pain, Viper fell to his knees with a heavy panting while his life points drained away.
Falling to his own knee, Illidan began panting heavily while holding his own side. Glancing around, he began to notice something. "Why haven't the monsters on the field vanished yet? Even in a Shadow Game, once the duel ends, everything vanishes that was in the game, so what's going on?"
His thoughts were soon interrupted when a portal opened on the side of the field, near the middle. In it, a shadowy figure appeared in the portal. He was in a black haze, not giving away any features at all.
"Viper." the figure sternly said, making Viper flinch physically. "You have failed me. You promised me you would retrieve Illidan's soul and Duel Energy, yet you have failed to deliver both to me."
Cowering, Viper quickly said "Forgive me Master! Give me another chance, I swear I can defeat him!"
"No!" the figure harshly shouted. "Your failure to defeat him has cost you your son's revival, along with your own soul and Duel Energy. Come and give all that you have to the rebirth!"
Without warning, the swamp that Viper was standing on suddenly shot roots out of the ground and wrapped around his legs. Struggling, he tried to stand up, only to have more roots wrap around his shoulders and begin pulling him in. His body began glowing with a bright orange aura, making him cry out. A stream of the aura began to flow into the portal, seemingly vanishing within it for all time. Viper cried out loudly before finally stopping his struggle. He was then pulled into the swamp and vanished beneath it's crimson waters. Once Viper was gone, the swamp and the monsters on the field vanished.
"Viper…" Illidan murmured before glaring at the blurry figure. "Why! Why did you do that to him!?"
"I thought you'd be happy Illidan. After all, it was you who forced him to increase his own Duel Energy to keep up with your anger and fury! He was a mismatch for you, that much is for sure." the figure calmly stated.
Looking away, Illidan mumbled "I didn't want him dead though."
"But you did." the figure protested. "Deny it all you wish, but it was your wish. Soon Illidan, we will meet again, and then you shall fall before my own power. For now, play your silly game and continue this façade known as life."
With those words said, the portal shimmered and began closing. Illidan attempted to stand but fell over onto the ground instead. Pain flared up and down his body, making Illidan growl out from it.
"No, the venom! It's still spread throughout my body! Damn it, of all times to be incapacitated!" he growled in his mind.
Suddenly, he noted his breathing was becoming a bit more labored. "Viper's snakes may have done too much damage to my body. This is bad, very bad!"
Attempting to reach out with his Shadow Powers, he realized that he couldn't for some reason. Remaining calm, he tried again and again, only to come to one conclusion.
"That venom, it's breaking my concentration, much like how Legato's poison did the same to Marie."
Feeling his breathing continuing to be labored, realization hit him. "I'm… I'm going to die here if I don't get some help."
Trying to sit up, he immediately figured out that he couldn't. His voice was even seizing up meaning he couldn't call for help. Silently sighing, he attempted to roll over so he could at least be on his back, but again figured out he couldn't move.
Laying with his face against the ground, he closed his eyes and began concentrating on breathing. "Heh, this isn't the way I figured I'd go out. Marie will have a fit I'm sure. I just wish I had waited on someone now, but I had no choice if I was going to keep up with Viper. I hate that she'll have to raise Arya alone. I'm sure Arya and her will both miss me dearly. At least they'll be safe for now."
"ILLIDAN!" a series of voices cried out, forcing him to open his eyes. Glancing around, he looked for the source of the voices, but realized his view was pretty much determined to very little.
With a ragged voice, he called out "I'm over here."
Whoever the group was apparently heard him and came running in his direction. From the sound of the footsteps, Illidan determined there were at least four people probably.
Soon enough, he heard someone very close to his position. He made a bit of noise by scrapping his left leg that was still movable. Hearing the noise, one of the group called out "HE'S OVER HERE AND LAYING FACE DOWN!"
The group soon surrounded him. The first person he saw was Marie with tears in her eyes. "ILLIDAN, ILLIDAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" she screamed.
"Yes… you don't have to scream." he sarcastically remarked weakly.
Sighing lightly, she shot back "What's happened to you!?"
"I got poisoned by Viper's snakes. I can't move, and it's a bit hard to breath." he lowly mumbled.
Turning to the group, Marie barked out orders to each. "Jaden, Hasselberry, and Jesse, I want the three of you to help me carry him. Jesse, hold his head; Hasselberry carry his feet; Jaden, you take his left side and I'll carry him from his right side. Time is of the essence, so don't waste any time!"
The group of three boys all nodded and quickly got into position. Gently, the four turned Illidan onto his back. Carefully, the four then lifted him up and began carrying him back to the school.
"You've got to hold on, you hear me Illidan! Don't leave me, that's all I asked and you promised not to, remember!?" Marie sternly said.
In a mere whisper, he mumbled "I won't, I promise."
--
Within thirty minutes, the group managed to carry Illidan to the infirmary. Marie hysterically called for the nurse, who was sitting with Mariah. Hearing the ruckus, the nurse, a woman with red hair that was pinned up in a bun with a single streak of bangs hanging off the left side of her face, wearing an Obelisk Blue Teacher's uniform came to where the group had gathered.
"Nurse Fontaine, thank goodness! It's Illidan, he's been poisoned by some kind of snakes!" Marie hysterically said.
Getting to Illidan's side, Nurse Fontaine placed her palm on Illidan's head, feeling it and finding it to be hot. Looking over his body, she saw multiple wounds, with blood still coming out of a few of them.
"I'll be right back with some anti-venom! It's the strongest I've got, but it should do the trick!" Fontaine said while turning and running to a nearby cabinet.
After rummaging around through the cabinet for a minute, she finally yelled "Aha! There it is!"
Grabbing a bottle, Nurse Fontaine grabbed a nearby needle. Carefully, she sucked out enough to possibly counteract the poison and made sure all the air was out of it. Satisfied, she quickly went back to Illidan's side and found a vein on his right arm. Finding one at last, she injected the anti-venom into his body, making him lightly cringe in pain.
Soothingly, she said "I know, it hurts and probably burns, but this should neutralize the poison. I need to get him to the main hospital to take care of his wounds!"
"Don't worry about them. I just want the poison taken care of." Marie remarked, making Nurse Fontaine turn to Marie in shock.
"YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT!?" she yelled. "He'll die from those wounds if we don't send him to the hospital!"
"He'll be fine." Marie replied while moving to his right side.
Growling lowly, Nurse Fontaine was about to say something when suddenly she felt her mind becoming fuzzy. Looking to Marie, she saw she was staring at her and her hands were glowing softly black. Her world suddenly came crashing down, much like her body, although Jaden caught her before she hit the floor.
Apologetically, Marie whispered "I'm sorry."
Looking back and forth between Nurse Fontaine and Marie, Jesse asked "What in the world just happened to her, and what did you do!?"
"Forget it for now Jesse." Jaden commanded. "She'll be fine. Marie just knocked her out, right?"
Smiling warmly, while turning to Illidan's side, Marie nodded and said "That's right Jaden. She won't remember a thing about what happened with Illidan."
"Sam Hill, what did you do!?" Hasselberry asked in complete confusion.
"I'll explain it later guys. For now, let's let Marie handle taking care of Illidan." Jaden remarked while gently dragging Nurse Fontaine to a nearby hospital futon near the ground.
After placing her into it, he motioned for Jesse and Hasselberry to follow him. The two hesitated, but after a moment, they finally complied and followed Jaden out the door of the infirmary.
Letting out a low sigh, Marie warmly said "It's just you and me now."
Illidan said nothing, for his eyes were closed and had been before they had arrived at the infirmary. Sadly smiling, she raised her palms and moved them to hover over his chest. Closing her eyes, Marie began concentrating on releasing her healing powers.
In their past lives, Marie had surpassed Illidan rather easily in learning to heal a person, only to be second to Bakura in healing capacities. Still, to achieve this was surprising to most of the Shadow Court in those days, except for Illidan. He had been so proud to see his own student surpass him in healing abilities.
Smiling at the memory, she concentrated on her task at hand. Pouring her healing powers out onto Illidan's body, she quietly began healing his numerous wounds. One by one, they slowly began to close with new skin knitting across the damaged areas.
Though she couldn't replace blood with her powers, she could at least close up the wounds and make sure that his body was fully healed. Finishing up, she let out a small bit of a sigh and took a deep calming breath. Looking down at him fondly, she softly cupped his cheek and smiled sadly down at him.
"You idiot, I wish you hadn't done that tonight. You nearly died, leaving me and Arya alone." she whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes and slowly slid down her cheeks while she added "Without you, what would I do with my life? I need you in it, more than you will ever know."
"I need you in mine too…" Illidan faintly whispered back, making Marie lightly jump back in shock. Looking down at him, she saw his eyes were barely open. His breathing had returned to normal, prompting her to touch his forehead. Finding it was cooling, she softly smiled.
"Your fever has broken, meaning the venom is leaving your system." she quietly remarked. Softly smiling, she asked "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough…"
Wiping the tears off her face, she sniffled and lightly chuckled. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you might actually die."
Apologetically, he whispered "I'm sorry. I'll never leave you. I promised not to, no matter what. You're too important to me to die just yet."
Knowing he was struggling to remain awake, Marie sadly smiled and cupped his cheek and bent down. She placed a light feathery kiss on his lips and then pulled back and smiled once more at his drooping eyes.
"Get some rest." she commanded.
Too tired to disagree, Illidan lightly nodded his head and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep with his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Pulling a seat up beside of him, Marie laid her head down onto his chest and soon enough fell to sleep herself.