Hey gang! Sorry about this chapter being a week late. Last week, I just didn't find enough time to finish this chapter up sadly. Plus, with it being Christmas last week, I didn't have a lot of home time to write either, or any work time for that matter. At any rate, I had a good set of Christmas's (I say this due that I had three technically. One on Christmas Eve with my mom's family, one on Christmas Day with my dad's side, and then Saturday with my mate's family). My mate and I got what we wanted, I think, hehe. At any rate, we had a good time and all throughout the Christmas time. Monday, I woke up sick, which truly sucked. I eventually got better throughout the day, thankfully. It was just a 24 hour deal, but I'm still feeling some of the effects today. Not many, but a few. Other than that, not much is really new in my life.

Writing wise, well, like I said, I managed to finish my chapter today. I had planned to release it over the weekend, but I didn't finish sadly. Still, I'm working at keeping this story up to date as often as possible. Ardee and I have several plans for what is to come, so no worries.

Moving along, time for reviews!

Raymond Barrett: Thanks. Heh, yeah, this duel could go either way. Neither of the lovers seem willing to let the other win, with Marie fighting for more it seems than Illidan. Still, neither of them have the advantage really. Never know, Illidan could defeat his wife and send her to the Shadows. Anything is possible. Thanks for your review!

Supreme-Chaos-Angel: Yeah, the battle kind of did become a battle between light and Chaos in the end. True, Illidan made mistakes, along with Marie, but the truth of the matter is, their decks are much larger than 40 cards. Honestly, one time, back in ToP, I had it labeled that he had 60 some cards. Since then I've tried to keep it trimmed down, but his decks do tend to be a little larger than they should be. I believe his current deck is around 60 cards as well. I know, in real life, not playable, but this is a fan fic. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself, lol. But yeah, he has more than 40 cards, so no worries of him decking out. The same is similar for Marie. At any rate, thanks for the review!

Genma no Ou: Heh, that's cool about recanting. Thunder Nyan Nyan does have advantages and disadvantages in being within a more dark version of Illidan's Chaos deck, but again, there are trade offs for it too. But yes, using Thunder Nyan Nyan did help him out. Thanks about the choice of Tualatin as a choice. I kind of liked that card. Defense Draw is most definitely most interesting. Heh, yeah, darkness did come out on top in most of the matchups, but the duel isn't over yet, so we'll see who in the end reigns supreme. Thanks for the review!

Metal Overlord 2.0: Ah, Demonic Roaring Gods instead of Legendary Roaring Gods. Still clueless, lol. Glad you liked my previous chapter, and yeah, the two keep going back and forth, but one of them has to win eventually. True, it seems to be taking a lot out of Marie just to keep herself from losing the duel. She's digging deep without a doubt, but how much longer she can hang on is the question I suppose. Yeah, she seems to have faith she can still break through to the person she loved. Only time will tell if she can finally get through to him. True, she'll need to do something big to wake him up. Thanks for the review!

Thank you, all four of you, for your reviews. I really appreciate them. I'm glad to see that everyone still likes how things are going, and I only hope you all continue to enjoy my new chapters.

As far as how many chapters are left, well, we'll have to see. I'm thinking we're on the last 10-15 stretch, possibly. We'll have to see what Ardee and I come up with. At any rate, I hope to have this story complete within the next month or two. I'm thinking the end of February, but maybe before, I don't know. It depends on how hard we work on this story.

Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Stats from previous chapter:

Life Points:

Illidan = 3000

Marie = 2800

Monsters on the field:

Illidan: Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500), Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000/2500)

Marie: The Agent of Wisdom – Mercury (0/1700) (d), Gellenduo (1700/0)

Spell/Trap on the field:

Illidan: Ultimate Offering (t)

Marie: Aegis of Gaia (t)

Number of cards in hand:

Illidan: 0

Marie: 0

Number of monsters on the field:

Illidan = 2

Marie = 2

Number of face down spell/trap:

Illidan = 1

Marie = 0

Number of face up spell/trap:

Illidan = 1

Marie = 1

Number of Dark Attribute monsters in Illidan's Graveyard: 4

Number of Dark Attribute monsters in Illidan's removed from play pile: 13

Chapter 45

"That was so close." Syrus commented while wiping his brow.

Nodding in agreement, Jesse added "She pulled out a close maneuver, that's for sure."

"Heh, that's just how Marie is." Jaden remarked. "Then again, it was a little too close I think."

"Indeed." Zane added.

On the field, Marie stared into the anger filled eyes of her husband. Not even flinching, she drew her new card, saying "Since Mercury survived that round and I had no cards in my hand during your End Phase, I get an extra card."

Picking up a second card, she glanced at it before saying "I sacrifice Gellenduo, which I should mention has a special ability. When I sacrifice it in order to summon a Light Fairy Type monster, it counts as a double sacrifice. Since that is the case here, I'm sacrificing it in order to summon this, Splendid Venus (2800/2400)!"

Vanishing from the field in a glow of golden light, the small pink and green creatures disappeared as a new golden glowing figure appeared. The figure was a powerful four white winged female angel with glowing golden skin showing from her face and hands. She wore a set of golden robes that covered her entire body that had jewels around her sleeves, shoulders, and chest area. On her shoulders sat a set of matching golden armor that fell to just below her chest. In her left hand, she held a long golden staff that had a large circular like shape at the top and a single red jewel in the center of the staff. Her head was covered by a helmet with two white wings that fluttered out to the side, with three points that formed a top her head.

"So you summoned a new weakling, eh?" Illidan taunted. "What good will she do!? She has only 2800 attack points, meaning you're 200 shy of beating either of my monsters!"

Giggling innocently, Marie smirked and replied "And you should know that attack points are everything. It's all about the special effects!"

About to respond, the wild haired duelist gasped as suddenly the golden aura surrounding the female angel began to glow brightly. Both the black armored warrior and the black dragon each shuddered from the light while their bodies glowed with a red aura, causing them to lose strength ((3000 – 500 = 2500/2500 – 500 = 2000) x 2).

"WHAT!?" Illidan bellowed. Glaring at his wife, he snarled out "What has your creature done to my monsters!?"

"I told you, it's all about the special effect. While on the field, Venus lowers all non-Fairy Type monsters' attack and defense points by 500. That means your monsters are too weak to compete with her."

Pointing at the glowing fairy, Marie added "Take out his Black Luster Soldier now with Shining Staff Strike!"

Twirling her staff rapidly while moving towards the black armored warrior, the female angel struck out at the warrior with her staff, easily cutting through the warrior's shield and into it's chest. A gasp of surprise escaped the warrior before suddenly exploding, leaving Illidan shielding his face from the blast.

Placing the remaining card in her hand within an empty Spell/Trap Slot, Marie said "I set this and end my turn." (Illidan = 2700, Marie = 2800)

Growling lowly while picking up his card, Illidan yelled out "You will pay for your foolishness! Watch as I activate a card that will begin your descent into the darkness!"

Holding his arm up vertically, the wild haired duelist tapped the end of his Duel Disk and revealed the card he had drawn. In a smug tone, he said "I activate the field spell, Chaos Control!"

With the wild haired duelist placing his card into the slot, the field instantly began to darken as looming black clouds filled in the area. Lightning began flashing out of the clouds, while thunder boomed across the sky while a cave appeared behind the crazed duelist.

"That's not good…" Syrus mumbled with concern filling his eyes.

Eyeing the cave behind his teacher, Jaden added "Yeah, that's definitely not good. With that, he'll have the advantage over Marie. But she has a slight advantage herself."

"Let's just hope it's enough for her to win." Jesse commented.

Sneering at his wife, Illidan smugly spoke up, saying "As you know, with Chaos Control, once per a turn, I can special summon one monster from my deck, hand, Graveyard, or removed from play pile to the field that has the word 'Envoy' or 'Chaos' in it's name. Of course, the trade off is I can't draw cards any longer, but I have no need for any other cards. Now then, I activate Chaos Control's effect, allowing me to bring from my deck the mighty Chaos Sorcerer (2300/2000)!"

Instantly, bolts of lightning began raining down onto the field, striking it randomly in different areas. At long last, a powerful bolt poured from the sky before the crazed duelist. From the lightning, a human like creature with purple skin, two large ivory white horns on the side of his head, and yellow eyes appeared. On his chest were a few straps that crisscrossed his body. His shoulders were covered by a set of shoulder pads made up of leather. He had armbands that went from his elbow to his wrists that were black as well, and finally wore a pair of black leather pants and a battle skirt as well. Once fully on the field, the monster let out a small battle cry.

"With Chaos Sorcerer on the field, the stage is set to finish you." Illidan smartly commented. Turning the remaining card in his hand towards his wife, he smirked at her shocked reaction. "I play the spell Chaos Control, allowing me to fuse Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End and Chaos Sorcerer to create a new Chaos monster!"

In a flash, the black dragon and the purple skinned mage began swirling together, causing a dark black aura to form onto the field. Appearing out of the aura slowly was pitch black dragon with massive purple wings, a white head with a jet black mane, a single ivory horn sticking off of it's nose, mighty arms and legs, and a powerful tail. Releasing a mighty roar, the dragon shook the entire area, but the golden skinned fairy stood her ground, along with her master.

"Meet Chaos Twilight Dragon – Envoy of Hell (3200/2400)!"

Staring at the new dragon, Marie slyly replied "I'm not afraid Illidan, or have you forgotten about the special ability of Venus? Your dragon automatically loses 500 of it's attack and defense points (2700/1900)."

"I realize that Marie, but you should know, my dragon won't roll over and die that easily. After all, as you put it so elegantly earlier, it's all about the special ability, which I now activate. By giving up 500 of my life points and not attacking, my dragon can now remove from play one card on the field. My choice is rather clear, I do believe. It's your angel that will be leaving us."

Releasing a mighty roar while it's master's body glowed with a light red aura, the black dragon with a white head spread it's wings and took flight into the air. Opening it's jaws, the dragon revealed dark black energy forming within it's throat and preparing to be spewed out.

Pointing at her face down card, which slowly rose up, Marie called out "I can't save Venus, but I can get the most use out of her as I can. I reveal the spell Tyrant's Rise, which requires me to sacrifice two monsters. The two I choose are obviously Mercury and Venus, so farewell my faithful angels."

"Not quite Marie!" Illidan bellowed. "I reveal the trap Magic Drain! Thanks to this trap, you must now discard a spell card from your hand in order to negate my trap. If not, then your spell is negated. Ironically, you have no choice in the matter, so oh well."

Lightly giggling, Marie shook her head, saying "You're so foolish Illidan. If you think you can negate my spell, you're mistaken. You see, Venus has another ability I neglected to tell you about."

Without warning, the golden armored angel's aura flared to life, sending out a small wave of golden energy, instantly shattering the face up trap card facing the wild haired duelist.

"WHAT!?"

Innocently giggling, the female duelist smirked and smartly said "Venus's second ability keeps my spell and trap cards from being negated. That means you can't stop this spell. At that, I'll sacrifice Venus and Mercury, meaning you just wasted 500 life points since your monster now has no target to hit."

Growling lowly while watching the two angel creatures vanish, Illidan snarled out "It doesn't matter, because you just lost your two monsters!"

"True, but who said they were gone for no reason?" Marie taunted. "When Tyrant's Rise gets rid of my two monsters, I'm allowed to special summon a certain monster from my deck, hand, or Graveyard. Since he's in my deck, I choose to summon him from there."

Pulling her deck out, the female duelist searched through it till she found the card she desired. Shuffling her deck and replacing it within it's slot, she held the card before her with the back of it facing her husband.

"This card has been with me for a very long time. Long ago, five millennia ago, this monster helped save my life when I was a young child. Once I had grown up and finished my training with you, I used this same monster to win the battle that you and I fought for my admittance onto the Shadow Court. In later years, it helped save Egypt from the rampage of the three Egyptian Gods. And since we were reborn into this new lives that we share, this card has never failed me, with it helping you defeat many enemies, as well as help protect me. This monster is my Duel Spirit and forever will be here to help and protect me. Now get ready Illidan to face off with Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500)!"

A loud roar suddenly filled the area, making the remaining black dragon glance around for the source. Soon enough, diving out of the sky at high speed was a large dark orange dragon with massive wings, skin like fins on the sides of it's head, powerful clawed hands and feet, and a mighty tail. Slowing it's descent, the dragon leveled out and slammed it's powerful legs onto the ground, sending out a small tremor. Glaring at the black dragon across the field, the dark orange dragon released yet another mighty roar, attempting to strike fear into it's enemy.

Staring at the new dragon, Illidan slowly began darkly chuckling, which eventually turned into a maniacal laugh. Finally calming himself, he sneered at the dragon and his wife, saying "That dragon, like yourself, is nothing to me. Neither of you have the power to stop me from completing my goals. Do as you please Marie, but this duel will end soon. For now, I shall end my turn since there is nothing else I can do at the moment, but be warned, on my next turn, I'll finish you off." (Illidan = 2200, Marie = 2800)

Preparing to draw her new card, Marie stopped and glanced at her deck. Looking at it, she mentally said "This is it. No matter what, I have to draw the right card here and now. If I don't, Illidan will crush Tyrant Dragon in his next turn, and then I'll be wide open to him. I have to draw the right card, or it's over."

"Marie, do not worry."

Glancing at the orange dragon before her, she heard it add "Your deck will not fail you. No matter what, we will save Illidan. Have faith."

Mentally smiling, the female duelist nodded and turned her fierce brown eyes towards her husband. "No matter what, I will save him. Even if I must lay down my own life, I'll save him from the darkness!"

"Get ready Illidan, because here I come!" Marie yelled while drawing her new card. A small smile crept onto her face as she turned it towards her husband, saying "I activate this, Card of Sanctity! Thanks to this spell, we each draw till we hold six cards in our hands. Since neither of us hold any, that means we each pick up six cards!"

"What was she thinking!?" Zane questioned. "She's giving Illidan an advantage…"

Staring at the female duelist, Jaden spoke up, saying "Maybe so, but she had no real choice. And besides, she may be helping herself out as well."

Hearing dark chuckling filling the air, the group looked back across the field to see it was the wild haired duelist. Bursting out loud into a maniacal laugh, Illidan pointed an accusing finger at his wife, saying "You are so foolish! If you think this strategy will work out for you in the end, you are a bigger fool than I thought!"

"Whatever, just draw your cards." Marie grumbled.

Shrugging, the wild haired duelist began drawing six cards, much like his wife did. With their cards drawn, the pair stared at one another for a moment before Marie smirked.

"Well Illidan, if you think my move was foolish, then you won't mind when I take you out. It begins by me summoning Majestic Mech – Ohka (2400/1400)!"

A lion like creature made up of red and pink energy with powerful energy wings then roared onto the field. It's tail was made like a pink blade, and a majority of it's body glowed brightly.

Frowning, Syrus slowly asked "How did she summon that card? It's a level six, so she had to sacrifice a monster to summon it."

"Not quite, Sy." Jesse commented. "It has a special ability, allowing her to summon it without a tribute. The only catch is it is destroyed in the End Phase of this turn."

"Oh…"

Back on the field, Illidan sneered at the new creature, asking "Come now Marie, how do you expect to beat me with weaklings like that?"

Pulling another card from her hand and jamming it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot, she smirked as the card rose up. "I had a plan Illidan, so check this out. It's the spell known as Gift of the Martyr! With this, I can sacrifice Ohka and add it's attack points to Tyrant Dragon for this turn alone (2900 + 2400 = 5300/2500)."

Vanishing in a brilliant golden glow, the golden energy instantly began coating the dark orange dragon. With a mighty roar, the dragon spread it's wings while it's power increased greatly.

Pointing at the black dragon across the field, Marie yelled out "Take out his Chaos Twilight Dragon with Tyrant Flame!"

Releasing a mighty roar once more, the large dark orange dragon spread it's wings and took flight. Glaring down at the black dragon, the dark orange dragon threw back it's head while flames licked it's lips. Throwing it's head back forward, the dark orange dragon released a stream of searing hot read flames. The flames struck the black dragon with a heavy impact, making howl in pain before exploding. Once through the black dragon, the flames continued onwards towards the wild haired duelist. The flames struck out at the wild haired duelist, causing a massive explosion to form with smoke flooding the area.

Staring at the smoke, Marie took an involuntary step towards it, only to hear the dark orange dragon growl at her, reminding her to stay back. Obeying, she stared at the smoke, only to suddenly see it disperse with a mighty wind, revealing her husband standing in the exact same spot he had been in with a smirk on his face.

"Wait, what happened? You should have lost almost all of your life points!" Marie declared.

Darkly chuckling, Illidan smugly replied "I should have, if not for the fact I had a card in my hand that reduced the Battle Damage to zero."

Holding his hand over his Graveyard Slot, which glowed to life, the wild haired duelist smirked as a monster card slid out. Holding it up to show his wife, he smirked at her gasp of surprise.

"That's right Marie, I discarded Kuriboh. When sent to my Graveyard, I reduced all the Battle Damage you would have inflicted upon me to zero. You may have destroyed my monsters, but I still took no damage. Nice try though, but it proves once more that you are no match for me."

Lightly growling, Marie glanced at the remaining cards in her hand and slid three into empty Spell/Trap Slots. "I set these three cards and end my move. Since I am, my dragon loses all of his extra attack points (2900/2500)." (Illidan = 2200, Marie = 2800)

"The end is near, Marie." Illidan smartly commented.

Casting her fierce brown eyes at her husband, the female duelist replied "Yes, it is, but this duel won't end with your victory, I can guarantee that."

"Just admit it, you've lost. Against my superior skills, you're no match."

Shaking her head, Marie closed her eyes for a moment, only to reopen them and show tenderness within them. "I know you can't do it Illidan. You've already proven to me that you haven't given in completely to the darkness."

Darkly chuckling, the wild haired duelist sneered and asked "And what makes you think that? Isn't it enough proof that I desire to eliminate you from this world with my own two hands?"

Shaking her head once more, Marie warmly smiled and replied "No, you can't send me away. The proof is in the offer you made me earlier. If I truly meant nothing to you at all, then you would never have given me the chance to surrender. Furthermore, you wouldn't have offered for me to take Arya back to our home and for us to never seek you out."

"Besides, you turned to the darkness for all the right reasons in your mind. To you, sacrificing your own soul in order to gain the power you thought you needed to rescue Arya was the right decision to you."

Pausing for a moment, Marie slowly added "But you were wrong. If there is one thing that you have taught me over the years, it is that there is always another way. Giving into the darkness will make you stronger, but you lose so much if you do. And though you claim to have sacrificed everything that you are to the darkness, you're wrong. I can still sense the same man that I fell in love with within you. Your devotion to protect Arya and me is proof enough. That's why I can't believe that the person I once knew as my husband is gone. I can never believe that he's gone. There is still kindness within your heart. So please Illidan, I'm begging you, let go of the darkness and return to your old self. Together we can save Arya, for our love is much stronger than the darkness ever could be."

Remaining quiet for a few moments while hiding his eyes within the shadow of his bangs, Illidan slowly raised his head to reveal his crimson eyes once more. Slowly, he began to darkly chuckle till finally his laughter built up into a booming sound. Stopping at last, he sneered at Marie and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Don't pretend to know me, Marie. The reasons I allowed myself to become the darkness are not as you think. You, along with all of the others, held me back for far too long! Now that I am free of my petty attachments, I am far more powerful than any of you could ever become! My power has no limits, so don't think that anything you say or do can change my mind, ever! I will finish you and send you to the Shadows, where you will wallow in despair forever, along with Seto and Haou! Now prepare yourself to enter that realm."

"Unfortunately for me, or fortunately for you I suppose, since I have Chaos Control on the field still yet, I cannot draw a card from my deck. Still, that doesn't matter." Illidan commented. "I activate Chaos Control's effect, allowing me to special summon any of my Chaos monsters to the field. Return now my Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000/2500)!"

Lightning instantly began flashing throughout the sky, striking the ground in multiple places. At long last, a mighty burst of lightning struck the ground. With the bolt vanishing, a large black dragon with an orange mane and massive wings appeared.

Sneering, Illidan pulled a card from his left hand and displayed it to Marie, saying "I next activate the spell Chaos Revisited! With this, I pay half my life points in order to special summon a monster with 'Chaos' or 'Envoy' in it's name to my field from my deck, hand, Graveyard, or removed from play pile. My choice is my hand, so rise up my final Chaos monster and help me bring despair to my former wife! Rise Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"

Gasping in surprise, Marie could hardly suppress her shock as a blue skinned mage wearing black tight fitting leather armor appeared onto the field. The mage wore a strange mage's hat and held a black staff in his two hands. Slowly, the mage opened his eyes, revealing saddened yellow corneas and red irises.

"The Dark Magician of Chaos, he's most affected by Illidan's darkness. He was always the closest connected to Illidan. How could Illidan do this to his Duel Spirit!?" Marie mentally questioned.

Staring straight at Marie, the mage whispered "Lady Marie… Forgive me for allowing my master to fall to the darkness…"

"QUIET!" Illidan bellowed. "YOU WILL NOT TALK WITH HER!"

Cringing at the sound of his master, the mage turned his eyes towards the ground. "You worthless mage, you are nothing but a nuisance. Still, I do need you to defeat Lucifer, so you shall remain with me for the time being."

"Illidan, how could you treat your Duel Spirit like that?" Marie asked with concern in her voice.

Casting his crimson eyes at the female duelist, the wild haired duelist smirked, saying "I treat him as he deserves to be treated. That mage is completely useless. All he does is the same thing you have. He spouts useless words, saying I have chosen the wrong path, but I distinctly remember him telling me that he would follow me down whatever road I choose."

"No matter though, I will use him to crush you, for you see Marie, I am putting an exclamation point on your defeat. I activate his special ability, allowing me to transfer one spell from my Grave to my hand. My choice is Chaos Fusion."

Lightly gasping in surprise, Marie watched as the spell card slowly slid out of her husband's Graveyard and into his awaiting hand. Sneering while placing it within his hand, he smugly said "I could fuse my two monsters together and crush you, but I have a better plan in mind. I play the spell Double Spell, which forces me to discard one spell from my hand. I send Chaos Fusion back to my Graveyard, meaning I can now claim a spell card from your Graveyard for my own use."

"My choice is a simple once. I use Double Spell to activate Gift of the Martyr, which allows me to now sacrifice my worthless dragon and add it's attack points to this useless mage (2800 + 3000 = 5800/2600)!"

Letting out a small roar before vanishing, the black dragon disappeared without a trace on the field while the black armored mage's body glowed with a brilliant golden glow as his strength increased.

Sneering at his wife, the wild haired duelist smugly said "With that, my monster is more than capable of removing you from this world, but I know you, my sneaky kitty. After all, you laid three face downs onto the field. But I know you better than anyone else, right? That's why I know you laid a certain trap onto the field. That would be Tyrant's Rage!"

"That's the card Marie used to beat Yubel when she controlled me." Jesse mumbled softly.

Frowning, Syrus asked "What does it do?"

"It allows her dragon to absorb the attack points of the strongest monster on the field and add those points to it's own. To use it, she'll have to give up half her life points." Zane informed. "But if Illidan knows she has it down, that could be trouble."

"No joke." Jaden commented. "It means he can figure out a way to counter it, possibly."

Nervously glancing between Illidan and her face down cards, Marie mumbled "You might be right, but it doesn't matter."

"We shall see, won't we, my sweet Marie?" Illidan taunted. "Now then, I activate this card, Mystical Space Typhoon! This spell enables me to destroy one spell or trap on the field, so I choose one of your face downs. Which one though, that is the question."

Sneering at his wife, the wild haired duelist smartly said "I know which. You see, you are too predictable Marie. Always, you place Tyrant's Rage to the right of your dragon. So I choose that card!"

Flying out of the face up spell card in an instant, a single swirling cyclone began flying across the field straight for the face down card image. Slamming into it, the face down card was forced to rise, revealing it to be a trap with an image of the dark orange dragon on it. In a flash, the trap shattered, leaving only the other two face down cards and the lone face up trap.

"See Marie, I knew exactly what you had planned!" Illidan gloated. "You planned on increasing your dragon's strength, but you foolishly placed it in the place I knew you'd put it in! Now you are finished!"

Growling lightly, Marie grit out "We'll see about that."

"Yes, we will! Go Dark Magician of Chaos, crush her Tyrant Dragon and send her into the Shadows for all eternity! Chaos Scepter Blast!"

Looking up at the female duelist with glistening eyes, the blue skinned mage whimpered out "I am truly sorry, Lady Marie. Please, forgive me for what I must do…"

Raising his staff, the mage began sending dark magical energy into the end of it. A sphere of black swirling magic instantly formed at the tip. Unable to hold it any longer, the mage pointed the staff at the dark orange dragon and released the sphere of energy. The blast went racing forward towards the dragon, who stood it's ground, along with it's master.

"GAME OVER MARIE! FAREWELL!"

"Not quite Illidan! I'm not about to give up on you yet, so don't give up me either!" Marie declared. "I reveal my trap, DNA Transplant! Thanks to this trap, I can change the Attribute of all monsters on the field to any selected type that I declare. I choose Light!"

Glowing with a light white aura, both the dragon and the dark armored mage let out a small grunt while their bodies shimmered with the aura.

"Why bother?" Illidan questioned. "Do you think the light will save me!?"

Slightly smirking, Marie replied "Not really, but I think it'll do more than you thought possible. You see, my true plan wasn't to use Tyrant's Rage on you. I knew you'd find it and destroy it."

Eyes widening, Illidan bellowed "WHAT!? But how!?"

"You think you know me better than I do myself, and that maybe true, but you forgot one important fact Illidan." Marie stated. "I know you better than you know yourself, hence why I was able to predict your move. And that's why this must end here and now."

Revealing the remaining card in her hand, she calmly said "I activate the special ability of this monster, known as Honest. By discarding him to my Graveyard, I can increase the attack points of a Light Attribute monster's attack points by the same number of the attacking monster. That means my dragon gains the same number of attack points as your monster (2900 + 5800 = 8700/2500)."

Releasing a mighty roar, the dark orange dragon's glowing white aura became blinding while it's strength increased dramatically.

"That's why…" Illidan began, only to be interrupted by Marie. "That's right, that's why I played DNA Transplant. I needed a Light Attribute monster, and obviously, Tyrant Dragon isn't, but thanks to my trap, he had no problem using Honest's effect. And now, Tyrant Dragon, counter attack with Tyrant Flame!"

Once more releasing a terrifying roar, the dragon spread it's wings and took flight into the air. Opening it's jaws, the dark orange dragon released a stream of red hot searing flames at the oncoming sphere of energy. The two attacks met in the middle of the field, causing a massive shockwave to form. Both blasts pushed back on one another for a moment before the flames pushed the sphere backwards. The stream engulfed the weaker mage, who only slightly smiled at the blast.

"Thank you, Lady Marie…" the mage whispered before vanishing.

Eyes widening at the incoming attack, Illidan released a mighty howl as the stream hit him. The flames licked at his clothing, burning through it with ease.

Watching her husband suffering from her monster's attack, Marie released a few tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Illidan, I'm so sorry, but I won't let you slip into the Shadows. I activate my final card, Mystical Space Typhoon! By playing this, I destroy my Aegis of Gaia. In doing this, I now lose 3000 life points."

"But that means…" Jaden mumbled.

Staring at the fading blast, Zane said "That means the duel is a draw."

"But what does that mean for those two!?" Jesse asked in confusion.

Before anyone could reply, a sphere of darkness suddenly began forming on the field and encircling the pair of lovers, hiding them from the group.

In shock, the group yelled "ILLIDAN, MARIE!"