Hey everyone! Well, the past week or so has been pretty quiet. I finished up all my projects, so once again, I got plenty of time to begin writing once more. I did a good bit of Christmas shopping also, which was fun as always. Other than that, life is about normal like always. Next week, I look forward to my trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, where I'll be resting up from Sunday to Wednesday. Then when I get home, on Thursday, I head up to Dayton, OH, for work, hehe. Should be fun. Ah yes, and my mate's birthday is next Wednesday, so fun fun.

Writing wise, things are moving along. So far, I've managed to write a chapter a week, but that may or may not keep next week. We'll have to see.

Moving along, time for reviews!

Metal Overlord 2.0: Lol, Illidan falling in with the bad crowd. True, for him to make Marie choose between her own safety and Arya's, it is rather despicable. And to throw everything away that the two had between them in their lives, past and present, is kind of sad. LOL! I don't know if he'd allow her to remind him who wears the pants, hehe. I'm glad you like this duel thus far. I thought on it hard and have worked it out with numerous possible angles, and thus far, I do think it has panned out. Yes, I am enjoying writing Illidan up as a villain for once, though I know he's not meant to be one. Very true, his deck is very powerful, and there are some good Light cards that made it in, but not too many. His deck is more focused on darkness rather than light. I've never head of the Legendary Roaring God Cards actually. They seem interesting. True, Marie is fighting rather well, though she seems to keep having to top deck a lot, but the duel could go either way in all honestly. Just have to think about the future I suppose. Thanks for your wonderful review!

Supreme-Chaos-Angel: Heh, yeah, Marie is easily angering the cool and calm demeanor of Illidan, hehe. True, Illidan should have taken out Marie's face down card, but he figured it was nothing, so he did nothing. Yes, you're correct about the 4th monster being buried via D.D.R – Different Dimension Reincarnation. True, Illidan's selection of Light monsters is interesting, and there is a reason to using Thunder Nyan Nyan. In the past, I did use it, and it has a place in a Chaos deck truthfully. Say you need a Light monster in the Grave since you have a Chaos monster in your hand, but no way to place it there. If you have an extra off attribute monster, you can summon Thunder Nyan Nyan and then bam, it goes to the Grave, hence giving you the card you need. It isn't the best card to use, but it is helpful, hence why I placed it within Illidan's deck. True, one has to wonder what Yubel and Lucifer are up to. Nothing good, I'm sure. Thanks for the review!

Genma no Ou: Thanks. Yes, Zerato vs. Zerato was interesting. Lol, yeah, Jaden's words made sense and encouraged Marie to keep fighting. After all, what he said was true, that Illidan saved her once from the darkness, so it's her turn to save Illidan. Lol, yes, I realize Thunder Nyan Nyan is an odd choice of monster, but again, this deck he's using isn't a Dark deck, but a darker version of a Chaos deck. Still, it is an odd ball within it. Like I mentioned to SCA above, it can be useful when needing a Light monster in the Grave quickly while you have another off attribute monster out. Yubel will one day return, hopefully, lol. After all, I can't finish this without her, most likely, hehe. Nor could I forget Lucifer for sure. But again, I wouldn't worry about her. (/Impersonates Arnold in Terminator 3.\) She'll be back. Thanks for the review!

Alrighty, that's it for the reviews this time around. Thank you, all three of you, for your reviews. I am very thankful for them. Also, thanks to those who added my story to their alerts and favs, plus adding me as a fav author. I truly appreciate it. Again, thank you, all of you.

At any rate, I need to run. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Later!

Stats from the previous chapter:

Life Points:

Illidan = 7000

Marie = 6200

Monsters on the field:

Illidan: Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800)

Marie: Marshmallon (300/500) (d)

Spell/Trap on the field:

Illidan: None

Marie: The Sanctuary in the Sky (fs)

Number of cards in hand:

Illidan: 1

Marie: 0

Number of monsters on the field:

Illidan = 1

Marie = 1

Number of face down spell/trap:

Illidan = 1

Marie = 0

Number of face up spell/trap:

Illidan = 0

Marie = 0

Number of Dark Attribute monsters in Illidan's Graveyard: 7

Number of Dark Attribute monsters in Illidan's removed from play pile: 5

Number of turns since Marie played Card of Demise: 1

Chapter 44

Picking up her new card, Marie eyed it for a moment before placing it horizontally onto her Duel Disk. "I set this monster and end." (Illidan = 7000, Marie = 6200)

"How long do you think you can keep up this up, Marie?" Illidan smugly asked while picking up a new card. "I would guess not too much longer since you're top decking. And then there is the fact in a few more turns, you'll have to discard your entire hand due to Card of Demise. It's only a matter of time, Marie."

Remaining calm, Marie firmly replied "I'm not worried."

Sneering at this, Illidan fiercely called out "You should be! I sacrifice Thunder Nyan Nyan to summon Vampire's Curse (2000/800)!"

In a flash of light, the female red headed drummer vanished from the field, only to be replaced by a short blue haired man with violet colored skin, with a single red skin covered wing sticking out of the right side of his back. He wore a blue long sleeved shirt that clung to his arms tightly, a mantel on his shoulders with a shoulder pad on each side that had a curved horn sticking out of each pad. He wore black pants and had a partial cape draped off of his left shoulder.

"Vampire's Curse, show Marie what it means to go up against me! Crush her pathetic face down monster with Cursed Fist!"

Releasing an evil chuckle, the blue haired man took flight and glided over towards the face down card image. Striking forward with his right fist, the man smashed through the brown back card image, causing a mostly invisible creature wearing a red with gold trim crown, a set of white feathery wings, a rope belt, a pair of white gloves, a golden bow, and a set of sandaled feet to shatter.

Smirking, Marie smartly said "Thanks Illidan for flipping up my Skelengel (900/400). When he's flipped up, I get to draw one new card."

Watching his wife draw a card, Illidan grunted out "I end." (Illidan = 7000, Marie = 6200)

"Check this out!" Marie confidently declared while drawing a card. Examining it, she slapped it onto her Duel Disk, saying "I summon Nova Summoner (1400/800) in defense."

Appearing in a rainbow aura was a strange ring like orange and striped monster with bug like wings and a small green core. The creature lightly glowed with it's rainbow aura while crossing it's wings before it's body into a defensive position while a horizontal card image formed underneath of it's body.

"I end with a face down." (Illidan = 7000, Marie = 6200)

"Good because it's my move!" Illidan ground out. Drawing a new card, he examined it momentarily before slapping it onto his Duel Disk. "Rise up and show yourself Dark Valkyria (1800/1050)!"

Materializing instantly onto the field with a dark aura surrounding her was a female warrior with light purple skin with two dark gray metallic wings jutting out from her back. She wore a helmet that covered her head with fins sticking off to each side of it, a mantel that connected to a gray chest plate with two pointed shoulder pads, a black dress that spread to her mid-thigh, with a battle skirt hanging off her hips that had a protective metal plate between her legs. She wore metallic gloves that came up to her elbows and similar boots that reached her knees. Staring at the monsters across the field, she smirked while evil reflected in her red eyes.

"And now, I reveal my trap, Ultimate Offering. Thanks to this trap, I can have an extra Normal Summon by paying 500 life points. With that, I give up 500 life points in order to activate Dark Valkyria's special ability. You see, she is a Gemini Type monster, which requires her to be Normal Summoned once more while on the field to activate her own special ability. Thanks to her effect, she gains a Spell Counter, which increases her attack points by 300 (1800 + 300 = 2100/1050)."

Smirking, the female monster's body glowed with a dark aura.

Seeing this, Illidan pointed at his female monster, saying "Now I remove her Spell Counter, allowing me to destroy one monster on the field. It looks like Marshmallon's end is here. Say farewell to that annoying creature!"

Sneering, the female creature pulled her hands in close to her chest, causing a sphere of black energy to begin forming. The dark aura surrounding her began centering upon the sphere she was creating till no aura surrounded her. Without any hesitation, she flung the blast at the weaker pink creature. The blast slammed into the creature, making it shriek from the pain before shattering into millions of pixels.

"With him gone, you're left with one card. Time to crush it, so go Dark Valkyria, take out that weakling with Dark Sphere Blast!"

Letting out a small cry, the female monster moved her hands before her body once more like before. A sphere of black energy formed before her body. In a flash, the female monster threw the attack at the ring creature, which held it's ground, only to be destroyed by the attack.

Lightly giggling, Marie smartly said "Not bad Illidan, but you just triggered Nova Summoner's special ability. When it goes to the Graveyard due to battle, I get to special summon a Fairy Type monster from my deck to the field, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points."

Pulling her deck out, Marie sifted through it for a moment before selecting a card and placing it onto her Duel Disk. "Welcome to the field another Nova Summoner (1400/800)."

Forming on the field in a flash of light was another orange and green ring creature.

"You may have summoned another weakling Marie, but it's about to vanish! Crush it Vampire's Curse!"

Leaping into the air, the blue haired creature came flying downwards at a near blinding speed and slammed a heavy fist into the ring creature. The creature let out a small whimper before exploding and vanishing from the field.

"Not bad Illidan, but you forget, my field spell keeps me from taking Battle Damage, not to mention, you activated Nova Summoner's special ability by destroying it."

Growling lightly, Illidan snarled out "Just summon another pathetic Nova Summoner and be done with it."

"Who said I was going to select it?" Marie slyly asked. "I have something better in mind to summon. You see, Nova Summoner has a second ability that can only be activated when The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field. Since it obviously is, I get to special summon this monster, Airknight Parshath (1900/1400), from my deck."

Forming on the field slowly was a half angel, half horse creature. The angel half wore blue and gold armor, and had wings draping across it's body in different places. In his right hand was a sword, while his left held a shield. The horse half was white, and had wings on it's back.

Glaring at the new creature, Illidan grunted out "I end." (Illidan = 6500, Marie = 6200)

Looking at her deck while fingering the top card, Marie nervously raised her eyes to glance at her husband. "If I don't draw the right card, Airknight will be crushed next turn. Plus, I have only this turn to do something, because next turn Card of Demise's effect kicks in, keeping me from using whatever card I may draw. I have to make this turn count."

"Alright, here I go Illidan!" Marie declared while snapping off a new card. Glancing at it, she smirked and jammed it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot, saying "I activate the equip spell Cestus of Dagla, which can only be equipped to a Fairy Type monster, so I hook Airknight up with this card, raising his attack points by 500 (1900 + 500 = 2400/1400)."

Appearing before the half angel, half horse creature was a pair of sharp bladed weapons that were curved blade with a single handle. Dropping it's lance, the angel reached out and took hold of the weapon and brought them into a ready position.

"Time for action, so go Airknight and take out his Dark Valkyria with Dagla Slash!"

Racing forward at a full gallop, the combination creature let out a battle cry while swinging it's twin handled blades at the weaker winged woman. The woman released a primal cry of pain from the twin slashes before exploding, making Illidan cringe lightly from the explosion.

Glowing with a golden aura, Marie firmly said "Thanks to my equip spell, whenever I deal you damage, I gain life points equal to the Battle Damage you took. That means I gain 600 life points."

With her words finished, the golden aura settled while her life point counter increased. "Next, Airknight's effect kicks in, allowing me to draw one card from my deck."

Picking up the card, she silently placed it into a Spell/Trap Slot, saying "I set this and call it a turn." (Illidan = 5900, Marie = 6800)

Snapping off a new card angrily, Illidan's angered look vanished while he smirked. "I activate the spell Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three new cards, but discard two."

Grabbing three new cards, he examined them before selecting two and placing them into the Graveyard. With a sadistic smirk, he smugly said "By the way, one of the cards I just discarded was Makyura the Destroyer, which has a very unique ability. When sent to the Graveyard, I am allowed for this turn alone to play trap cards from my hand. At that, I activate this trap, Escape from the Dark Dimension! With this card, I'm allowed to special summon a Dark Attribute monster from my removed from play pile directly to my field, so I select Mystic Tomato (1400/1100)!"

Rematerializing onto the field in a flash instantly was the orange and red tomato creature that had a vein popping out of it's head and red eyes.

"Next, I sacrifice my worthless creature for a familiar face. Take a look into the mirror Airknight as I summon Darknight Parshath (1900/1400)!"

"Say what!?" Marie asked in surprise.

Vanishing in a glow of dark energy, the tomato disappeared, only to be replaced by a purple glowing black and purple half angel, half horse creature. The horse half of the creature had black fur with purple guards on it's legs, while the half angel half had a black set of wings rolling down it's back, with long orange hair, wearing purple armor with a purple gauntlet attached to it's right arm with a silver blade protruding from it, a silver shield with orange wings hanging off the sides of it, and a purple hat with wings sticking out the sides of it. Upon fully appearing, the angel let out a crazed yell while swinging his sword like lance into ready position.

Staring in shock at the creature, Marie mumbled "How could you do that to a creature that was one of purity and light?"

"Easily since it was worthless before in your hands." Illidan snidely remarked. "Now his effect kicks in. For each Dark Attribute monster in my Graveyard, he gains 100 attack points. Right now, I have nine, meaning he gains 900 extra attack points (1900 + 900 = 2800/1400)."

Releasing a primeval roar, the black armored angel strength increased while a red aura surrounded it's body. At long last, the aura vanished while the purple skinned angel smiled evilly at it's duplicate across the field.

"Crush that weakling of light now Darknight!"

Racing across the field at full gallop, the black armored angel slashed out at it's blue colored double. The double attempted to block, only to find the lance like sword sticking out of it's chest in the end. With a yell, the blue armored angel released a cry before shattering.

"And now, I activate Darknight's special ability, which allows me to remove from play a Dark Attribute monster in my Grave when he destroys a monster on the field. I remove one of my Mystic Tomato's, allowing me to draw a new card (2700/1400)."

Drawing one card, Illidan smirked at it and pointed at the blue haired creature, saying "Go Vampire's Curse, direct attack!"

Eyes widening at the oncoming blue haired creature, Marie called out "I activate my trap, Defense Draw! Thanks to this trap, all Battle Damage I take is zero, then I draw one new card."

Growling in anger while watching his blue haired creature land back before himself and his wife draw a card, Illidan snarled out "That card is useless to you! You will pay for such impudence! I set this card and end!" (Illidan = 5900, Marie = 6800)

Drawing a new card, Marie examined it, only to hear Illidan call out "Don't forget Marie, your little spell card's nasty side effect kicks in. Now toss out your hand!"

Shrugging, Marie placed the two cards into her Graveyard Slot. Smugly staring at Marie, he added "You're finished now, and you know it."

"Hardly." Marie nonchalantly replied. "After all, I have my face down, so watch this! I activate Disgraceful Charity. This trap allows me to return the two cards I just discarded."

Slowly, two cards slid out of the slot and back into Marie's waiting hand, who picked up both and smartly said "Too bad Illidan, I nearly did lose those cards, but no such luck. Now watch as I summon this monster, The Agent of Creation – Venus (1600/0) in defense!"

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. Fully on the field at last, she crossed her arms and took a kneeling position while a horizontal card image formed below her.

"Next, I play Venus's special ability, allowing me to pay 500 life points in order to special summon from my deck a monster known as Mystical Shine Ball. I'll pay 1000 life points, allowing me to summon two Mystical Shine Balls (500/500)!"

Materializing onto the field in a flash were two twin spheres of shining light with horizontal card images under each.

"That's it for me." (Illidan = 5900, Marie = 5800)

Darkly chuckling while drawing a card from a top his deck, Illidan smartly asked "Is that so? Then watch as I crush your pathetic defenses. I summon Dark Grepher (1700/1600)."

Materializing onto the field was a muscular warrior with dark skin, wearing tight leather armor that had spikes coming out of it's pants legs, a chest plate that covered his lower chest that had two thick straps that had spikes on it as well, with the chest plate having red eyes painted onto it. His arms were completely exposed, with only two small gauntlets on his wrists and a black cloth covering his neck and the back of his head and his forehead. The creature's hair was sickly white and he bore red eyes. In his right hand was a mighty broad sword.

"Dark Grepher, crush her first pathetic Mystical Shine Ball!"

Leaping into the air with his broad sword over head, the warrior came crashing down and sliced cleanly through the sphere in a single sweep, causing it to shatter immediately, leaving the other sphere and the female angel.

"Rid the field of that other sphere now Vampire's Curse!"

Letting out a dark chuckle, the blue haired creature leapt into the air and slammed a heavy fist into the remaining sphere creature. With ease, the blue haired creature smashed through the sphere, causing a small explosion and rustling Marie's clothing.

"Eliminate her remaining monster now Darknight Parshath!"

Galloping across the field, the half angel, half horse creature readied it's lance like sword for an attack. Reaching it's target, the purple armored creature slashed cleanly through the female angel, causing a small explosion to ensue.

"You're defenseless now Marie." Illidan smugly remarked.

Lightly chuckling, Marie flashed defiant eyes at Illidan and firmly replied "Not quite, because you just did what I needed you to do, so thank you."

"What are you babbling on about?"

Innocently giggling, Marie turned the remaining card in her hand towards Illidan before slapping it onto her Duel Disk. Immediately, a blinding white light formed on the field. Slowly appearing out of the light was a strange white armored creature with large white arms with golden spheres at it's shoulders and just above it's wrists, a cone shaped hat, and a white battle skirt that had many ridges. Instead of legs, the creature had white glowing energy pouring out onto the ground.

Eyes narrowing with anger visibly flashing in them, Illidan snarled out "What is that thing!?"

"It's a special monster that was just right for this situation. You see, when I have two or more monsters at the beginning of your Battle Phase and all of them were destroyed in battle, I get to special summon this monster, which is called Tualatin (2800/2500). Oh yeah, and should I happen to summon this monster this way, I'm allowed to declare one Attribute and then all face up monsters with that Attribute are destroyed. Also, so long as my monster is out, you can't Normal or Special Summon a monster with the same Attribute as the declared."

Watching the shock appearing on Illidan's face, Marie smartly added "And guess what, the Attribute I pick is Dark, so that means your three monsters are hitting the Graveyard. Too bad."

One by one, the three creatures standing before Illidan glowed with a blinding white aura and shattered one after the other. Casting a fierce glare at Marie, he grit out "You will pay for that…"

"Unlikely, since you have to end your turn." Marie quipped.

Growling lowly, Illidan glanced at his face down card and then back up at Marie. In a snarl, he said "I end!" (Illidan = 5900, Marie = 5800)

"Wow, she managed to turn things around yet again." Jesse remarked with a touch of shock in his voice.

Nodding, Syrus weakly said "I only hope she can keep this up."

"Me too Sy." Jaden added.

Picking up a new card, Marie glanced at it. Placing it in her left hand, she called out "Go Tualatin, direct attack Illidan with Blinding Light!"

Moving before the wild haired duelist, the white armored creature began shimmering with a white aura. In seconds, the aura flared to life and became blinding while making Illidan scream out in pain from the ferocity of the blast. At long last, the creature backed away, leaving the wild haired duelist with wisps of smoke pouring off of his body.

Staring at Illidan, Marie softly said "Illidan, please, give up on the darkness. Can't you see, it won't help you accomplish your goals? Please, I'm begging you, leave it and come back to me."

Casting his crimson eyes on his wife, Illidan fiercely replied "I will never go back to becoming the weakling you want! Go on and finish!"

"Fine then, I end my move." (Illidan = 3100, Marie = 5800)

"Good, because it's my move!" Illidan declared while drawing a card. Darkly chuckling, he burst into a dark laugh and smirked evilly at Marie.

"You may have blocked me from summoning Dark Attribute monsters, but that's not enough to stop me. I remove from play my remaining Mystic Tomato and Thunder Nyan Nyan from my Grave in order to special summon this, my Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!"

Appearing onto the field in a flash of white light was a warrior in full body black shiny armor, with gold trim on it. In his right hand was a bronze sword, while in his left was a powerful shield. On his head was a helmet with an open face, revealing his skin was light green, with long brown hair falling down his back.

Staring into the warrior's eyes, Marie saw the fear and sadness reflecting from them. "I wish I had been there to keep this from happening. The darkness has spread throughout Illidan, and he has taken his Duel Spirits down this dark path with them. I will stop him, so please hang on guys, I'll set things right."

"Crush her pathetic Tualatin with Chaos Slash!"

Hearing her husband's words, Marie watched the black armored warrior swiftly move across the field. In a flash, he vanished, only to reappear behind the white armored creature with his sword out to his right side. A moment passed before the white armored creature exploded into millions of pieces, leaving behind only a small cloud of smoke in it's wake.

"With your monster gone, my monster's effect kicks in. Black Luster Soldier can now attack again, so go direct attack her!"

Swiftly moving across the field, the black armored warrior vanished in a flash while Marie quickly crossed her arms to protect herself. Just as she had, the warrior reappeared behind her with his sword held out to his right side.

In a mere whisper, Marie heard the warrior say "I'm so sorry Lady Marie. Please forgive me."

A moment later, she instantly cried out in pain as a slash mark appeared across her chest with blood splashing into the air. Wincing from the pain in her already hurting chest, she began pouring out healing energy over her wound, allowing it to quickly heal over and stop bleeding.

"Marie, it's pointless to keep fighting. This battle will end in your destruction. Just surrender to the darkness."

Casting fierce brown eyes at her husband, she grit out "I'll never quit fighting to save you!"

Releasing an annoyed sigh, Illidan grunted out "I end my move then." (Illidan = 3100, Marie = 2800)

Picking up a new card silently, Marie grimaced lightly from the pain in her chest. "Even though I healed it, it still hurts like hell. I'm going to have to just put the pain to the side till I can win this duel."

Regaining her composure, she examined the card for a moment before slapping it horizontally onto her Duel Disk. "I think I'll summon this creature, my last Nova Summoner (1400/800) in defense."

Appearing onto the field in a small flash was a familiar orange striped creature with a rainbow aura surrounding it.

"I place one card face down and call it a turn. Now come and get me, if you dare!" (Illidan = 3100, Marie = 2800)

Sneering, Illidan smugly said while drawing a card "Come and get you, eh? Well, watch this! I summon a monster that will bring your world crashing down! Go Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000)!"

A mage in maroon colored armor and robes with a sword and maroon shield, along with a maroon cape appeared. Very little of the mages blue skin could be seen, for it was covered by a large cone hat.

"Once I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, his ability activates. He gains a single Spell Counter, which raises his attack points by 300 (1600 + 300 = 1900/1000)."

A small circle in the center of the mage's shield began to glow light blue. It radiated light energy, showing it's magical properties.

Eyes widening, Marie whispered "No…"

"But yes, Marie!" Illidan countered. "Watch as I activate Breaker's special ability! I remove his Spell Counter, meaning he can crush a spell or trap card on the field. But which one is the question."

Glancing between the towering building behind his wife and the card before her, Illidan smartly said "I could destroy your face down, but then there is your field spell that has been highly annoying. I think I've made my choice. Obliterate her field spell now Breaker!"

Aiming his shield at the large stone building, the mage's shield began glowing with a bright blue light. Without warning, a beam of bright blue energy was released from the shield and went flying towards the large stone building. The blast hit it head on, sending it crashing through the building and creating a large explosion. Immediately, the building began falling apart, with half of it beginning to hurdle downwards towards the ground. All at once, the blue sky faded, along with the building that had been behind Marie.

"Without that pathetic building, you're defenseless. Go Breaker, cut her Nova Summoner to ribbons!"

Racing forward with his maroon cape flapping behind himself, the maroon armored warrior readied his sword for a strike. Reaching the ring creature, the warrior slashed out at the ring creature, easily cutting through it completely, causing it to explode.

Using her right arm to shield her face, Marie growled lightly and called out "Nova Summoner isn't leaving without helping me out. By you destroying it, I get to special summon from my deck another Fairy Type monster with 1500 or less attack points."

Grabbing her deck, Marie sifted through it momentarily before finding the card she desired. Immediately, she slapped it to her Duel Disk, causing a blonde haired male angel with bronzed skin, two large golden wings on his back, and wore a white tunic.

"I summon Shining Angel (1400/800) using Nova Summoner's effect."

Shrugging, Illidan smirked and smartly replied "That may be, but don't forget about my monster. Black Luster Soldier, slice through her new friend with Chaos Slash!"

Rushing across the field, the black armored warrior vanished in a flash, only to reappear behind the blond haired angel with his sword out to his right side. A moment passed before the angel released a mighty howl as three slash marks appeared on it's body. A second later, the angel exploded, leaving Marie cringing from the fierce wind beating against her.

With the wind settling, Marie took a stumbling step forward and firmly said "By taking out Shining Angel, you activated it's special ability. Now I can special summon another Light Attribute monster from my deck to the field, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points."

Pulling her deck out once more, the female brown haired duelist sifted through it before selecting a card and slapping it onto his Duel Disk. Materializing onto the field instantly was another blonde haired angel with golden wings on his back.

"Selecting another Shining Angel (1400/800), eh Marie? How foolish of you." Illidan smugly taunted. "Well, no matter, I'll crush it also and end this duel."

"What do you mean?" Marie questioned.

Darkly chuckling, Illidan pointed at Marie, saying "You seem to have failed to notice how many life points you have. With my last attack, you lost 1600 life points and were left with 1200. Since Black Luster Soldier destroyed one monster in battle already, his special ability allows him to attack again and finish you off."

Eyes widening, Marie took an involuntary step backwards, making her husband smirk even more evilly at her. "It's over Marie, so say your final goodbyes. How pitiful that you didn't last longer than you did. Black Luster Soldier, end this with Chaos Slash!"

Beginning to walk towards the lone blonde haired angel, the black armored warrior whispered "I'm so sorry Lady Marie. I am so sorry…"

"Finish her!" Illidan yelled at the warrior.

Obeying his master's wishes, the warrior broke into a run before vanishing from the group's vision. He soon reappeared behind the blonde haired angel like he had the previous attack with his sword out to the right side. The angel within a moment yelled out in pain as three red slash marks appeared on it's chest. Immediately, the angel exploded, causing the entire area around it to be shrouded in smoke.

"Marie!" Jaden cried out with worry on his face.

Staring at the smoke, Syrus whimpered out with tears in his eyes "No, Professor Marie…"

"How could he?" Zane growled to himself.

Evilly laughing, Illidan smugly said "So much for my pathetic wife. With her gone, I can move on and crush Lucifer."

"Who said we were finished?"

Eyes narrowing, the wild brown haired duelist watched as the smoke cleared, revealing his wife still standing while panting lightly. "IT CAN'T BE! THIS DUEL SHOULD BE DONE!"

"Should of, could of, would of, but it was all for not." Marie smartly replied. "You should have taken out my face down card Illidan, because thanks to it, I survived that attack. When you attacked, I activated my trap, Aegis of Gaia. With this card, I gained 3000 life points instantly, which saved me from losing this duel. Plus, since you took out Shining Angel, I get to special summon a new monster."

Grabbing her deck once more, she sifted through it before choosing a card. Picking the desired card, she slapped it onto her Duel Disk, saying "I choose this monster, The Agent of Wisdom – Mercury (0/1700)."

Materializing onto the field instantly was a green skinned angel with green feathered wings, and strange tattoos on it's shoulders and forehead. The angel wore a blue tunic with white pants, golden wrist bands, golden bands on it's forearms, and held a golden book in it's left hand.

Clenching his hands into tight fists, Illidan angrily snarled out "Fine then Marie, I'll end you soon enough. You will pay for your foolishness! I end…"

"Hold that thought Illidan!" Marie interrupted. "When you move to your End Phase, Mercury's effect kicks in. If I have no cards in my hand, during my Standby Phase, I draw an additional card. Since that is the case, I'll get to draw an extra card."

"Whatever! I end!" (Illidan = 3100, Marie = 2800)

Releasing a small sigh of relief, Jaden mumbled "Thank goodness."

"Yeah, she managed to hang on, but just barely." Jesse commented.

Staring at the female brown haired duelist, Zane mentally mumbled "Why on earth are you using that card? Don't you know the risks that go with it!?"

Seeing his brother was intensely staring at Marie, Syrus glanced at her and then back at his brother. "What could be on his mind?"

Lightly panting while staring across into the crimson eyes of her husband, Marie drew herself up to her full height and drew a card. Glancing at it, she called out "Don't forget, since it's my Standby Phase, I get to use Mercury's special ability, so I draw another card."

Picking up a new card, she examined it for a moment. Placing it onto her Duel Disk, she calmly said "I summon this, my Gellenduo (1700/0)."

Appearing onto the field in a spray of sparkles was a small pink Jell-O looking creature with blue eyes, ponytails on the sides of it's crescent moon shaped head, and a white ring surrounding it's body. Next to it appeared a small green creature with a rain drop like head, blue eyes, a single ponytail on the top of it's head, and a white ring of energy around it's body.

"What pathetic looking creatures." Illidan grunted out.

Lightly giggling, Marie smartly replied "I wouldn't count out what looks weak. They may not look like much, but just you wait, they'll take you down a notch. Allow me to show you. Gellenduo, attack Breaker with Spinning Ring Slash!"

Beginning to spin rapidly, the green and pink creatures turned into blurs while only the white rings became visible. Without warning, the pair vanished, only to reappear behind the maroon armored warrior while stopping their spinning. The warrior quickly glanced behind himself, only to suddenly explode and vanish from the field.

"See what I mean." Marie admonished. "I set one card and switch Mercury to defense. That's it for me." (Illidan = 3000, Marie = 2800)

Growling with frustration, Illidan snapped off a new card and glanced at it. "It's time I finished you off, once and for all! I play this spell, The Beginning of the End! You see, to activate it, I have to have seven or more Dark Attribute monsters in my Grave. Since I do, I can remove five from play and then draw three new cards. My selections are Darklord Zerato, Darknight Parshath, Breaker the Magical Warrior, Apprentice Magician, and finally Dark Armed Dragon."

One by one, the five cards slid out of his Graveyard Slot into a small pile. Picking up the five cards, the wild haired duelist placed them within his removed from play slot. Returning his attention to his deck, he picked up three new cards and smirked.

"It looks like it's time to crush you once and for all! I've had fun with this duel, but all good things much come to an end. Speaking of the end, watch as I remove from play my Vampire's Curse and Dimensional Alchemist…"

"Wait, how did that get in there!?" Marie asked with confusion visibly on her face.

Darkly chuckling, Illidan calmly replied "When I used Graceful Charity earlier, I discarded it along with Makuyra the Destroyer. Come now Marie, you should remember such things. Now then, I remove them from play in order to special summon your end, Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000/2500)!"

Emerging onto the field instantly was a massive black dragon with an orange mane, powerful black wings, a long strong tail, large and strong clawed arms and legs. The dragon let out a massive roar in an attempt to strike fear into the two weaker monsters across the field.

"Crush her Gellenduo now Black Luster Soldier with Chaos Slash!"

Pointing at her face down card, Marie called out "Hold that thought Illidan, for I have a trap! Go Negate Attack! Just like it says, your attack is negated, plus the Battle Phase is ended, so no dice on getting rid of me just yet, Illidan."

Growling lightly, the wild haired duelist jammed a card into a Spell/Trap Slot and grit out "I end!" (Illidan = 3000, Marie = 2800)