Chapter 4 - High Tide

"It's quite simple, really." - Tidal said - "You aren't getting out of here without beating me in a duel. And I'll try my hardest to make sure that does not happen."

"So I'm fighting for both our lives." - Michael thought, scanning the room, trying to find Emilia, but he was out of luck - "Better not lose then."

"What a ridiculous thing to say." - he thought - "Better not lose, as if I was intending on dying today."

Michael stopped arguing with himself, and activated his duel disk.

"We're dueling, then!" - he told Tidal - "Not that I have much of a choice."

"You're going to regret ever coming here!" - he replied.

"Duel!" - they both said simultaneously.

Turn 1 - Tidal (LP - 4000 / Hand - 5 / Field - X)

"I'll take the first move!" - Tidal said - "I place one monster in face-down Defense Position!" - a card appeared in front of him, hovering horizontally.

"Next, I'll set one card, and end my turn!" - another face-down card showed up in front of him, right below the set monster.

Turn 2 - Michael (LP - 4000 / Hand - 5 / Field - X)

"Was that the entire thing?" - Michael asked - "You talked yourself up so much, I expected to drop dead before the first turn ended."

"Be patient."

"I don't have time to be patient!" - Michael drew a card and looked at his hand - "I Normal Summon Wind-Up Soldier! (EARTH/Warrior/Effect/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)"

A human-sized mechanical warrior started assembling itself in front of Michael. The lime green hands and arms were connected to the white spherical body using circular joins with gears on them. The soldier's arms were a pair of red grabbing claws, and its giant black eyes on a magnet-shaped head completed its cartoonish look. Out of its back came the monster's namesake - a large golden wind-up key.

"Wind-Up Soldier, attack his face-down monster!" - Michael declared. His monster stomped across the field, its key incessantly spinning as it trod along, kicking up small dust clouds. Its attack revealed a strange, centaur-looking machine, its body composed of two fishbowls, each with a single seal in it, one piloting the centaur's legs, and the other controlling its arms that wielded one crossbow each. The monster got destroyed without too much resistance, leaving a cloud of steam behind as it disappeared off the field.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't get any damage through." - Michael took a card from his hand, and placed it face-down in his Spell and Trap Zone - "I end my turn."

Turn 3 - Tidal (LP - 4000 / Hand - 3 / Field - Spells/Traps: 1 set)

"Now the pieces are all in place!" - Tidal said, sending a card from his hand to the graveyard - "I activate the effect of the monster you just destroyed! I Special Summon Fishborg Archer (WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 300) from the graveyard!"

The crossbow-wielding seal-piloted centaur appeared on the field once more.

"If I control no monsters, Fishborg Archer can be summoned back from the graveyard by discarding a WATER monster, but all of my non-WATER monsters will be destroyed at the start of the battle phase! Next, I use the effect of the monster I just discarded! Since all the monsters I control are Fishborg monsters, I can Special Summon back Fishborg Doctor! (WATER/Fish/Effect/Level 4/ATK 400/DEF 400)"

A white and red mechanical fish appeared, once again being piloted by a creature inside a fishbowl. The chassis itself was equipped with several appendages, including a small saw above the bowl, and a pair of grabbers either side of it.

"The Fishborg Doctor summoned this way will be banished when it leaves the field." - Tidal explained - "Now, I tune my Level 3 Fishborg Archer with my Level 4 Fishborg Doctor! Awaken from your slumber, dragon of the gods! Synchro Summon, Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! (WATER/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 1700)"

The dragon burst out of the ground, and briefly hovered just below the cave's ceiling before landing on all four of its legs. Everything from its head to its wings was made out of solid ice, but despite its cold appearance, the dragon had a warm glow surrounding it.

"Now, you'll get to experience Gungnir's effect firsthand! I discard a card from my hand, and destroy your Wind-Up Soldier!" - Gungnir opened its mouth wide, sending a burst of ice Michael's way.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." - he immediately responded, activating a Trap Card that absorbed Gungnir's blast - "I activate Zenmailstrom!"

"Well, it wouldn't be fun if you were a pushover." - Tidal said - "Go on then, what does that Trap do?"

"I Tribute my Wind-Up Soldier, causing your monster's effect to fizzle out!" - Michael said - "And then, I Special Summon Wind-Up Honeybee (EARTH/Insect/Effect/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 300) from my hand!"

A mechanical bee appeared in front of Michael, barely the size of his head. It happily hovered in the air, its black and yellow body happily bobbing around. Its head was half-white and half-yellow, with a star on top of it. It used its tiny arms to take off its amber-coloured goggles, which seemed entirely unnecessary, and looked around the cave with its adorably large eyes, looking slightly perplexed by the whole situation.

"Not bad." - Tidal commented - "You managed to dodge Gungnir's effect, but you haven't accomplished much by just replacing one monster with another."

"Not quite done!" - Michael said - "Zenmailstrom allows me to Special Summon a Wind-Up monster from my deck with the same ATK as the one I just summoned! And with that, I Special Summon another Wind-Up Honeybee from the deck!"

There were now two small bees buzzing around the field.

"Not bad, but not enough to stop me!" - Tidal continued - "Next, I Normal Summon Unshaven Angler (WATER/Fish/Effect/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 1600)" - a large angler with a huge jaw appeared on the field. The monster's eyes were glowing in the dark, giving away its location, since it was otherwise barely visible in the darkness of the cave.

"Now, Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, attack Wind-Up Honeybee!" - Gungnir's wide open mouth shot a trail of ice towards one of the bees, freezing it in place. Its flight stopped, and it fell to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

"When Honeybee is destroyed, I can Special Summon a Wind-Up monster from my deck!" - Michael said - "Rise, Wind-Up Knight! (LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)"

An elegant warrior appeared, covered in shining silver armour. It wielded a sword in its right hand, and a shield in its left. Much like Michael's other monsters, it has a wind-up key in its back. There were gears scattered all over the toy, slowly ticking along to make the whole mechanism work.

"So that's what Honeybee does." - Tidal thought, looking at the only bee left buzzing on the field - "I'm probably better off not attacking it for now, not like he can do much with such a weak monster anyways."

"I end my turn." - he said.

Turn 4 - Michael (LP - 4000 / Hand - 3 / Field - Monsters: Wind-Up Honeybee, Wind-Up Knight)

"Not the best situation to be in." - Michael thought, looking at Tidal's field - "Let's see if this next card will help in getting me out of this wrench."

He drew his next card, and immediately smiled upon noticing what the card was.

"Just in time." - he thought - "I Normal Summon Wind-Up Kitten! (EARTH/Beast/Effect/Level 2/ATK 800/DEF 500)"

A small white and orange kitten appeared on the field, happily leaping from side to side, as the golden wind-up key in its back spun around. Its ears were twitching as it looked around with its big eyes, one of which was green, and the other blue. It looked towards Gungnir, then sat down, not too bothered by the giant ice dragon it was facing.

"Using Kitten's effect, I can target one of your monsters and return it to the hand!" - Kitten walked over to Tidal's field, staring down Gungnir with indifference in its eyes. It hissed in its direction, and the fearsome dragon took a few steps back. It departed off the field, letting out one final roar. Michael couldn't help but laugh at the sight of a giant dragon being taken down by a small toy kitten. As the heroic cat ran back to its owner, its wind-up key slowly stopped spinning.

"Luckily for you, the effects of Wind-Up monsters can only be used once while they are face-up on the field!" - Michael said after the orange cat ground to a halt.

"Now, Wind-Up Knight, attack Unshaven Angler!" - the toy started charging towards Tidal's field, holding its shield and sword firmly in front of it.

"Not so fast! I activate Poseidon Wave, negating your attack!" - the knight's charge was effortlessly stopped by Tidal's Trap Card - "And, after that, you take 800 damage for each Fish, Sea Serpent and Aqua monster I control. Luckily for you, I only have one."

A tall wave rushed towards Michael, soaking him before he even realized what was happening.

Michael: LP 4000 - 800 = 3200

"Damn it, I couldn't get any damage through. And I don't have much on the field" - Michael thought - "Luckily, I have this to protect me."

He set Quaking Mirror Force from his hand, and ended his turn.

Turn 5 - Tidal (LP - 4000 / Hand - 1 / Field - Monsters: Unshaven Angler)

"There it is!" - Tidal thought, looking at the card he drew - "But first… "

"Judging by the look on his face, I'm not in for a fun time."

"Unshaven Angler's effect allows it to be treated as 2 tributes for the Tribute Summon of a WATER monster. With that said, I Tribute it, and summon Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth! (WATER/Fish/Effect/Level 7/ATK 2800/DEF 2200)"

After about ten seconds of the ground shaking, a lake appeared between the two duelists, but not much happened afterwards.

"Where is it?" - Michael asked.

"Look down below."

Michael looked at the crystal-clear lake that appeared out of nowhere. He still couldn't notice anything at first glance, but he had to take a couple steps back once he realized a giant blue eye was staring at him from the depths. Immediately after Michael noticed it, the huge grey fish started swimming around, causing ripples on top of the lake.

"Next, I activate Coelacanth's effect!" - he said, sending a monster from his hand to the graveyard - "By discarding a card, I can Special Summon as many Fish monsters from my deck as possible!"

"That's about as powerful as I was expecting from this thing." - Michael said, still terrified of the size of the monster as it swam by one more time, causing a slightly larger wave than the last one.

"From my deck, I summon Royal Swamp Eel (WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1200), Oyster Meister (WATER/Fish/Effect/Level 3/ATK 1600/DEF 200), Fishborg Archer (WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 300) and Fishborg Planter! (WATER/Fish/Effect/Level 2/ATK 200/DEF 200)"

A white and red eel appeared, wearing a golden, jewel-encrusted crown, and next to it was a strange-looking humanoid oyster. After them came another seal-piloted mechanical centaur appeared on Tidal's field, and next to it was a fishbowl with flowers growing out of it, armed with tentacles.

"Now, I tune my Level 4 Royal Swamp Eel and Level 2 Fishborg Planter! Bow before the descendant of the gods! Synchro Summon, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! (WATER/Sea Serpent/Synchro/Effect/Level 6/ATK 2300/DEF 1400)" - a bright blue dragon appeared, its long, serpent-like body and wide wings were both made out of solid ice, and its head was shaped like a six-pointed star. The dragon roared towards the cave's ceiling, releasing an icy breath cold enough to freeze anything in its vicinity. Slowly, the water dripping off the stalactites started solidifying and falling to the ground, creating a cacophony of noise, echoing off the walls of the cave as the frozen droplets hit the ground.

"I'm not done yet!" - Tidal continued - "I tune my Level 3 Fishborg Archer and Level 3 Oyster Meister! Roar to the heavens, mighty beast! Synchro Summon, Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier! (WATER/Beast/Synchro/Effect/Level 6/ATK 2500/DEF 1400)" - an ice-covered bright turquoise beast appeared, wearing a black and gold suit of armour, large enough to rival the dragon next to it.

"Then, when Oyster Meister is sent to the Graveyard, except by battle, I can Special Summon an Oyster Token (WATER/Fish/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to my field!" - a small brown oyster appeared in between the two beasts on Tidal's field - "Now, since all monsters in my graveyard are WATER monsters, I can Special Summon Fishborg Launcher (WATER/Fish/Tuner/Effect/Level 1/ATK 200/DEF 100) from my graveyard! However, when it's summoned this way, it gets banished once it leaves the field."

Much like other Fishborgs, the main part of this monster was a fishbowl, this time piloted by a giant water bug. The robot's mechanical body was largely orange and white, and its two hands also functioned as swords. Finally, there was a small missile launcher above the fishbowl serving as the main control pod.

"I've got to compliment you." - Tidal said - "None of my other opponents even got this far. Now, are you ready for my final act?"

The lake between Michael and Tidal had almost completely frozen over by now, but Coelacanth just continued carelessly swimming below the surface. Michael's eyes widened as a bright blue glow appeared around his opponent.

"From my graveyard, I banish Fishborg Archer and Unshaven Angler from my graveyard! Rise from the deep, ruler of the oceans and lord of the lakes! Drown your opponents in your magnificent might! Awaken, Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls! (WATER/Dragon/Effect/Level 7/ATK 2600/DEF 2000)" - another ice-covered dragon appeared, about twice the size of Brionac. Whatever light there was in the cave reflected off its silver body. It flew up into the air as best it could, and let out a roar loud enough to silence any waterfall, causing the layer of newly-formed ice covering the lake to crack. It spread its wondrous blue wings as it descended back down upon the floor of the cave, causing the ground to shake as it landed.

"Fortunately for you, you won't be experiencing Tidal's full power today. Unfortunately for you, however, it's about to get replaced by an even more powerful dragon. I tune my Level 1 Fishborg Launcher, Level 1 Oyster Token and Level 7 Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls! Tremble in fear before the ultimate dragon! Descend, three-headed goddess of creation, witness of life and harbinger of death! Synchro Summon, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! (WATER/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/Level 9/ATK 2700/DEF 2000)"

Yet another dragon appeared, this one with three heads instead of one and an amber jewel embedded in each of them. Its body was a dark shade of blue, with parts of it, including its wings and torso, covered by a thick layer of white ice.

"Now that it's been successfully summoned, I use Trishula's effect to banish three cards - one from your hand, one from the graveyard, and one from the field!"

"This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?" - Michael thought.

"Let's start off by getting rid of that set card, so it doesn't bother me!" - Tidal said, as Michael's hopes of his monsters living to see another day vanished off the field - "Then, a random card from the hand."

With this last move, Michael's hand size was cut in half, and he couldn't do anything but watch as all of his precious resources fizzled away.

"And finally, the least important one. Let's banish, say, Wind-Up Soldier from your graveyard!"

"Are you done yet?" - Michael asked, tired of Tidal's charade.

"Not by a long shot! Now, I activate the effect of Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier! By returning any number of face-up cards I control to the hand, Dewloren will get 500 ATK for each!" - the lake in between the two opponents, which still had pieces of ice floating on it, began to shrink in size until it completely disappeared - "And now that it's served its purpose, I return Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth to my hand!"

Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier: ATK 2000 + 500 = 2500

"There must be a reason why he returned Coelacanth to his hand." - Michael thought - "There's no way he'd get rid of something that powerful if the only thing he's getting out of it was a 500 ATK boost."

"Now, I activate the effect of Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! By discarding any number of cards from my hand, I can return the same number of cards you control to the hand!"

"And there it is." - Michael continued his train of thought - "He needed a card in his hand to activate Brionac's effect."

"I can't have you negating my attacks, so Wind-Up Knight is going straight back to the hand!" - Tidal said - "And with that, everything is ready. Battle Phase! Brionac attacks Wind-Up Honeybee!"

A large burst of ice came towards the helpless yellow bee, freezing it solid. It shattered into thousands of tiny pieces as it fell to the floor.

"I use Honeybee's effect, and Special Summon Wind-Up Rabbit from my deck!" - a mechanical rabbit appeared, painted red and white. Much like other Wind-Ups, it had a giant golden key sticking out its back, spinning wildly as the rabbit jumped around the field.

"Next, Dewloren attacks Wind-Up Rabbit!"

"Before you do that…" - Michael interrupted him - "I use Rabbit's effect to banish my Wind-Up Kitten from the field."

"Not sure what the point of that was, but Dewloren's attack goes through regardless!" - after a total of around ten seconds of being on the field, the rabbit froze solid much like the bee before it, and fell apart in much the same way.

"And now, since you so kindly removed Kitten from the field for me, I'll have Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier attack you directly!"

"Brace for impact." - Michael whispered, as the cold from Trishula's incoming attack started reaching him before the attack itself. Once that came, Michael stood no chance and was knocked off his feet by a storm of snow and ice.

Michael: LP 3200 - 2700 = 500

Tidal looked at Michael as he somehow recovered from Trishula's fierce attack, barely managing to get back up on his feet.

"Michael! Look at this!" - Emilia shouted from another end of the cave, waving a duel disk around.

"I'm kind of busy…" - Michael replied.

"No, but look." - Emilia demanded once more, and Michael finally started paying attention to what she was saying.

"Whose is that?" - he asked once he finally realized she was holding a duel disk in her hands.

"That's my mother's duel disk…" - Emilia said.

"Are you sure? That looks like quite a generic model."

"I'm sure!" - Emilia finished her thought, choosing to ignore the fact that Michael interrupted her - "This is her deck!"

"So, I guess now we've solved the mystery of where your mother went? She was probably defeated by this lunatic, and god only knows what happened with her afterwards." - Michael said, referring to Tidal, who chose to stay silent all throughout this exchange, but finally spoke up now.

"I did not touch her!" - he said, clearly offended by Michael's suggestions that he harmed her, much to both Emilia's and Michael's surprise.

"Hold on…" - Emilia started saying, but was once again rudely interrupted.

"She left this godforsaken place unharmed." - he said - "But even if I had done something to her, you've got bigger things to worry about right now. She might have gotten out alive, but with nothing on your field, you might not."