【42 - A Catastrophic Natural Disaster! What Lies Beyond the Eye of the Hurricane!?】
The pirates scurried about in the violent storm, pulling on rigs and ropes. They fought to keep the mast up and control the sail while four other men helped the captain fight to control the wheel. Salt water washed the deck and Heidi slipped, falling hard. Other men were falling but fought to get back up. She could hear nothing but wild winds and soaking rain, along with the occasional crash of thunder. She was soaked to the bone, a tall wave made everything tilt and she fell back again, sliding before grabbing hold of the banister on the top level. The pirate ship rose up several metres atop a wild wave then turned, giving Heidi a full view of the terrifying hurricane before them. A grey, untameable pillar of air. Unstoppable and roiling forth with a vengeance.
Dominic slid to her side, she felt his hand on her shoulder. Lightning flashed and for a second she could hear the captain's laugh of madness over the weather. He threw his head back and cackled, the wind tearing his hat from his braids. Dominic tried pulling Heidi free but then he looked up and held on too. The hurricane seized their ship and they left the ocean, flying around and breaking apart into a flurry of splintering planks. There were deafening howls and crashes. Like a toy they were picked up and thrown into the waves behind the hurricane, smashing apart completely. Blackness.
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YouTube: Softest Beach Sounds from the Tropics - Ocean Wave Sounds for Sleeping, Yoga, Meditation, Study
"Land…" murmured a salt-withered throat. Was it Heidi's voice? No… She scrunched her eyes and opened it to midday sun blurry through water. "Please…land…" Heidi was lying on something hard, water washing over her. Someone was with her. She raised her sore head, and saw Dominic. They were lying on a raft of driftwood, ship wreckage. It was just the two of them on a calm ocean.
Dominic was kicking his legs underwater "Heidi, you're alive…" he sounded so weak.
"What's going on?" her head hurt to think.
"I dragged you back up, then got us onto this. I passed out too then we were drifting for like an hour. Then…"
Heidi looked ahead to where he was trying to paddle them. "Land!" she fought to kick her legs. They were too exhausted to leave their makeshift raft but eventually they got closer and closer until their feet touched sand. Then there was struggling, gagging against salt water before they forced themselves up and onto a sand bar. It was the shape of a crescent moon with a single palm tree. They fell onto white sand, lying on their stomachs and panting. The overhead sun immediately began to burn. When Heidi rose her head and spat sand from her dry lips she saw no other islands nearby. The two of them were marooned.
Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out a sopping mess of paper-pulp "my deck's ruined…"
Heidi gasped, she reached for her cards and felt a burn. She ignored it and pulled her deck from her wrangled clothing. There was Supernova Mars Disaster shining red with heat, keeping her deck of cards dry. Dominic blinked at it tiredly "…that's how I saw you underwater. The red light."
They lay there for a while and Dominic seemed to pass out from exhaustion. When Heidi was ready to sit up she looked around some more, trying to figure out how screwed they were. It was a scenario to daydream about back home in the classroom. What would you do if you were marooned on an island? Heidi had always been so confident in her skills, imagining herself running about in an outfit of leaves and straw, having a hut built in no time and lounging back on some rocks while a signal fire burned. That palm tree was shrimpy - didn't have any coconuts on it and didn't provide any shade at all. Two things were likely to kill them: thirst or exposure. The way that sun burned relentlessly down made Heidi think it was likely to be exposure. They had no shade anywhere.
At a past recollection Heidi crossed her legs and held her deck before her. She focused on her phoenix and suddenly a static red covered her once more. Mars was deflecting most of the sun's heat and immediately Heidi felt better, her energy not being sapped away and allowing her to stand. Her superpower was a lame one at that. The water duellist could hack technology, the darkness duellist could blend into shadows. Heidi tried focussing and splaying her palm at the tree but couldn't make it ignite into a signal fire. She considered Amira, who she tried not to think about much - she could hide in darkness but she couldn't make darkness. Heidi's 'trick' wasn't likely to save her from a bullet, but heat resistance had saved her neck twice now.
She moved over to Dominic and tried to 'share her power with him', considering cartoons and movie logic. Again, nothing happened. It was out of her skill range. So she dragged him over to the tree, straining a great deal because of their different sizes, but the tiny shade didn't even cover his head. They had very little options here… Heidi sat beside her friend and tried not to freak out. Dominic's slow breaths were hoarse and his skin was turning pink under the sun. So an exposure death for him and thirst death for Heidi. She anxiously drummed her fingers before jumping up and running loops around the crescent island.
When the lunacy of her freak-out was over, Heidi went back to focusing on all she could do. Climb the lone tree, use her weight to snap it into pieces. Make enough friction with the wood until a fire could start. It took an hour of straining and frustration. She fell off the tree a few times and got splinters in her hands. Heidi's throat burned with thirst. Dominic lay there beneath Heidi's raggedy jacket and pants, possibly getting heat stroke. Heidi's remaining energy, a limited resource, was depleting. The wood was bendy but broke with enough force, and the stringy edges finally caught under the sun. After much trial and error, Heidi had enough broken wood before her and a signal fire going. She got up to break off more pieces, tugging with her arms and feet. The fire soon got as big as it was going to get and Heidi stepped back, collapsing back on her ass beside her unconscious friend.
Smoke billowed high - her determination came through. Heidi got up and started going back and forth from the ocean, wringing water from her top onto the clothes covering Dominic in an attempt to keep him cool. It took forty minutes before help mercifully came.
Half a dozen canoes sailed toward them, pulling up at shore. They were islander men, and one stepped away from the biggest canoe toward them. Heidi jumped up and ran over, too grateful to be suspicious.
"Oh thank you! Please help him, he needs water and shade!" Heidi came to a stop before a big man with a round head. His dark eyes held a michevious glimmer, giving off the impression of one quite young at heart despite his age. Others were already peeling the clothes off Dominic and pulling him up.
"What are two young people doing all the way out here?" he reached back and a canteen was handed to him, he passed it to Heidi who quickly sloshed the liquid down. In that moment there was no drink she liked better than plain water.
After soothing her throat she answered him "our boat was ripped apart by a hurricane."
"Not many people can say they've lived through something like that. I'm Malo and we're fishermen."
Dominic was carried under the shade of a sail, they tried rousing him by sitting him up and pouring some water into his mouth. Like the sweetest lullaby it tempted him back and he too grabbed the canteen and started to drink. Heidi sighed in relief. She went to pull her shorts back on then turned to see Malo still staring at her, as were the other fishermen atop their boats. Heidi realised she was still coated in Mars's subtle red energy, shielding her from the heat and sun. She felt hot from her phoenix but simultaneous comfort in it. Malo then eyed her deck from within her pocket that was shining red through the fabric.
"You're the chosen fire duelist. A short girl by the name of Heidi Hirazumi." Malo stated.
"...yes."
"Then I'm sure that as your rescuer, you will give me the honour of a duel?" His eyes were bright with mischief, hand shining with green light.
"Don't suppose I have a choice..." Heidi remarked.
The man bent over to fiddle with something at his ankle. There was a cord tied to a zip-lock bag, by his foot a deck of cards. Interesting, his islander get-up didn't look like it had pockets. All these men were shirtless with dry leaves around their waist. Brown skin shining and exposed under the sun. When the energy by Heidi's hand brightened two tables appeared and they took their marks. Shields expanded, glaring bright under the sun. Malo drew his hand then waited for her.
"You haven't shuffled your deck together properly." Heidi pointed to the smaller pile opposite the rest of his cards.
"I have. Those are my hyperspatials."
Heidi had never heard that term before, but the game was accepting it so she just started. She charged and passed, her table lighting with red.
"I'll charge mana with this spell, Hyperspatial Faerie Hole." Malo announced as his table shone green. "Heard of it?"
"A future card!?" Heidi exclaimed.
"Seems you haven't heard of hyperspatial holes and the big role they play in Duel Masters now."
Heidi drew with a serious expression. If this man was using future cards then he was probably involved with the lieutenants and her life was in danger. She charged with Asteroid Gauss, Flame Comet. The phoenix shone scarlet under her fingers before she slapped down "Mini Titan Gett!" Her loyal kid-fighter skated between them.
Malo charged with a card that shone eerily white. It was starkly different to the five colours she was used to. A sixth colour!?
"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and sacrifice her to boost mana. Hyperspatial Revive Hole." A green-haired fairy fluttered in and out of play again. It allowed the big guy to add mana from his deck. He grinned at her "turn done."
"…something isn't right here." Heidi tensed. It wasn't just that this guy had future cards mixed into his deck. So far every card he'd used was a future one. Could it be… his entire deck is full of future cards? If that were the case Heidi didn't have a hope of beating him. She drew anyway and started "I summon Cocco Lupia! Mini Titan Gett, break a shield!" The orange bird emerged with a merry cheep. The human blasted forward on its skates and fired from its arm-blaster, clearing a panel that littered the white sand.
"I cast Pixie Life to boost mana. I choose to leave my colourless creature in my mana. Turn done." Green light shone from what seemed to be a future adaption of the Faerie Life spell.
"I summon Ambitious Dragon for 3 mana! Cocco Lupia boosts him to 6000!" Heidi had another Cocco Lupia in hand to make it even stronger next turn. "Cocco Lupia attack! Mini Titan Gett attack!" From either side of her dragon the smaller fighters leapt into action, gunning and tackling through glass. Malo turned away from the sharp outpour and chuckled before turning back. No triggers yet.
"Now the fun can start. I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which gives -2000 power to Cocco Lupia and destroys it. It also allows me to bring out a psychic creature that is darkness and costs 9 or less!" A lightning vortex opened and struck down Heidi's fire bird. Through the portal was space without depth, mass without substance. It was a higher dimension her human brain had never evolved to comprehend. Hyperspatiality. "I bring out Gaial Kaiser, the Victorious! A speed attacker that can attack untapped creatures when it enters the battle zone!" Based on its appearance the psychic creature belonged to three civilizations: dark, fire and nature. It was dragon-like with a serpentine lower body. A card slid from Malo's smaller stack onto the tabletop. "Attack Ambitious Dragon!" With 5000 power it took down Heidi's dragon leaving her alone with her signature human once more.
+ Invading the Palace | Avatar the Last Airbender OST
"…a psychic creature, huh?" she was sweating, even if Mars was protecting her from the heat. Her hand shook when she wiped her forehead with her arm. Who the hell is this guy. His deck is a proper, put-together future deck. Not even the lieutenants had those. It was supposed to be only Urobach in this dimension… She drew. "No charge. I summon Joe's Toolkit!" The DM-13 xenopart bounced into play. "Gett, break a shield!" The human blasted off and spin-kicked through his fourth shield, this one being a trigger.
"Faerie Life! I boost mana. Now I'm gonna show you my trump. Acid, Sacred Execution!" The unfamiliar white blazed, it was as bright as the overhead sun. Completely devoid of colour. The eerie shine died down to reveal a huge 6000 blocker. It had four arms holding bladed weapons and a staff, magic circles orbited its body. The colouration and design didn't indicate any civilization known to Heidi. Malo had a triple-civilization creature and a zero-civilization one.
"So colourless is a sixth civilization?"
"Yes. Gaial Kaiser attacks Gett!" The psychic being decimated her human in an explosion of energy. "As I end my turn Acid's effect activates! I destroy Gaial Kaiser to replace it with a colourless creature from my deck. If you didn't know already, when psychic creatures leave the battle zone they only stay in their new location briefly before returning home." The psychic being was sucked back through an electrical vortex. "I bring out Maitreya, Cannon's Farewell!" This next creature looked human but was decked out in shining white gear. Magic circles orbited both ends of its staff. "I send a card from your hand to the bottom of your deck. Turn done."
Heidi got rid of her lone card, the extra Cocco Lupia. She slammed her deck back down, pissed off. Both creatures before her were colourless and on 6000.
"How the hell… am I supposed to duel someone using a full future deck?"
"It's not the future anymore. I knew you wouldn't be able to beat this deck."
"You knew from the start, huh?" Heidi tried to suppress the rage. She drew and played her lone card. "Express Dragoon!" The purple tyranno drake landed beside her xenopart. "Turn end."
"I cast another Hyperspatial Emporer Hole! I give -2000 to destroy Joe's Toolkit then bring out Gaial Kaiser, the Victorious once more! He attacks Express Dragoon so that brings an end to your creatures!" As her zone was obliterated Heidi raised her arms, sand flying. "My turn ends and with Acid's effect I remove Gaial Kaiser once more, replacing him with… a second Acid, Sacred Execution. Turn done."
Heidi was disbelieving as she stared down three colourless creatures. He'd not attacked, he was waiting to take her out all in one hit. An attack from a 6000 creature could very well mean Heidi would never duel again. Her hand trembled but she forced herself to draw.
"Smashblow Dragoon!" Her orange tyranno drake swished its tail as it raised bladed fists. It would be on 6000 fighting a blocker, so could've taken out one Acid… but now there's two… "Turn end."
"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole to return Jasmine Mist Faerie to my hand. Then Gaial Kaiser, the Victorious returns again!"
"Psychic creatures… they're too strong!" Heidi could feel herself crumbling under the pressure.
"I summon Jasmine to destroy her for mana. Then I cast Pixie Life for another mana boost, this time I return Shoegazer, Bright Deity to my hand!" Another white double-breaker card went to his hand, brought out thanks to all his mana boosting. "Gaial Kaiser attacks your untapped Smashblow Dragoon. As I end my turn again, Acid replaces Gaial Kaiser once more… I bring out Truename Rihanna Glory!" A strange white mecha with teeth emerged. Another white double-breaker on 6000. Malo had four of them in play and the 7000 he just added to his hand. "Turn done."
Heidi had no cards in her hand. She'd broken four of his five shields, she'd got so close. No single card she could draw would help her out of this situation. Mindlessly she pulled a card and put it down.
"Express Dragoon…" Another purple drake appeared, snapping its jaws.
"Shoegazer, Bright Deity comes out and lets me summon Funk, Guard of Hope." Creature's five and six joined his field. "We can't delay this forever… Maitreya, double break!" The staffed human leapt and swung its weapon overhead.
"Hell's Scrapper destroys… Funk!" It was the only creature weak enough to be targeted. It was pulled into the orange grinder. Malo didn't so much as bat an eye. He didn't need to.
"Rihanna double break!" The mecha's teeth chomped through more glass, pieces flinging into the ocean. "First Acid, break her final shield!"
Not a trigger. Supernova Mars Disaster was her final shield. What is this? Some kind of fucked up sign? Looking up she saw her opponent standing with the second Acid, Sacred Execution ready and waiting. Its four arms raised the bladed weapons, the magic circles spinning around its body. His army of double breakers were too big for the tiny island, most were standing knee-deep in the water. The other fishermen watched with curiosity and bemusement.
"I win this game, chosen fire duelist." Malo concluded.
"Of course you do… even with three phoenixes I can't contend with a deck like yours. Colourless civilization creatures? Psychic creatures and hyperspatial spells? I didn't stand a chance." Heidi lowered her head bitterly. "So this is how it ends… I do my best to save Amira, to save my planet. She still runs away, and I don't even manage to make it to the next chosen. This is where I die…"
"I'm not going to kill you." Malo said with genuine shock.
"You're not? Aren't you working for the lieutenants?"
"No?"
"But… how…" she looked around at the fishermen who seemed amused. Heidi demanded "how do you have a deck full of future cards?"
"Everyone in the islands has up-to-date decks."
"What!?" she exclaimed. "Since when!?"
"Two months ago the nature chosen used his phoenix to bring future cards here. Now we got stuff the rest of the world hasn't even heard of: twinpact cards, draghearts and draguners, revolution changes… I can't even list them all. But Duel Masters has changed, Heidi Hirazumi. The TCG, the first twelve sets are long gone. The islands got them first, but I'd say they're already making their way to the rest of the world. It's all thanks to the nature chosen, it's why he's called the Hero of the Islands."
"Supernova Jupiter King Empire…" Heidi murmured. "The nature chosen… he's a hero in these parts?"
"Absolutely. Kanoa Tuonga is the hero around here. He's our very own celebrity. Takes care of his tribe. He visits the neighbouring islands and uses his phoenix power to make the produce abundant, nobody starves here anymore."
Heidi had wanted to be a hero but so far failed. To hear that Kanoa was a proper hero, that he'd managed to help many people and was even famous for it struck her. She'd always known about the water chosen, who'd been very active. But Heidi had never heard much about Kanoa. The news of his achievements simply hadn't travelled to Augus or Duextra. They'd been localized to the island borders.
She watched Malo shuffle his cards together, the creatures retracting. She saw Dominic awake but drowsy, under shade but getting back to normal with a water canteen in hand. He was watching her as well. Malo wasn't giving her sinister vibes. He was reminiscent of a kind, slightly mischievous uncle.
"I need you to take me to Kanoa."
"Is that why you're here?" he watched her nod. "I can take you to Kua Kuano. From there we might be able to reach Kanoa's tribe in a few days."
"Thank you…" the relief hit her hard and Heidi felt her eyes well up.
The big man crossed the space toward her, suddenly wrapping her into a strong hug and lifting her feet off the ground.
"Kua pau te pepa i te mīhini tā!" he spoke in some native language. "You're very welcome Heidi. We of the islands welcome you here. Let's get you and your friend back."
They climbed onto the canoes and sails took them out to sea. Instead of foreboding nature now looked beautiful. Colourful fish scattered beneath the surface as they moved out along the ocean. In the distance, dolphins swam with them. Diving up and blowing water. Heidi crouched beside Dominic, trying to use her body to shield him from the sun.
"It's alright, Heidi." He remarked weakly. "I'm feeling a lot better now."
"You're looking pretty sunburnt."
"So are you."
The cool wind was a comfort as they rocked along, sipping from the canteens. Other boats came into view. Then an island with a colourful resort. It was packed with civilians in button-up shirts and sandles. Palm trees, billboards and neon signs. Adults kicked back while drinking cocktails on the decks and children ran around with ice-creams. They approached wharves and a white beach full of people, a lot of them young too. The populace here was only a fraction Caucasian while most were islander people.
YouTube: Lars Luis Linek - Sunsplash - Soundtrack The Sims 3 Island Paradise
"See that, there's the guy you're searching for." Malo pointed to a billboard. Heidi blinked at it and recognized his face from when she'd first seen it on powerpoint slides in a DMA classroom with Narciel. Kanoa Tuonga, a teenager just like her, giving a contained smile and up there for everyone to see. The words on it declared him as the hero and protector of the islands. In the corner a tropical fruit drink was being advertised.
"I can't wait to finally meet him… the third chosen."
"First you two need a meal. Then some relaxation and recovery. We're all about that here. We like to take it easy and let life be."
Heidi eyed Dominic before saying "we don't have any money..."
"I'm sure your embassy could help."
"Uh…" Heidi considered her wanted status by the military and the fact Dominic had lived his whole life as a pirate.
"Heidi, you're the chosen fire duelist." Malo turned to her with an easy smile. "You're a hero of the planet. Someone will vouch for you. So relax. You might even be the one shouting the rest of us meals." A few of the other fishermen chuckled at that.
They pulled up at the docks and some friendly fellows pulled Malo into conversation. Asking why they'd not come back with any catch, and him saying they caught something more interesting. Heidi felt aglow with the relief of being alive and rescued. She went to Dominic's side.
"I guess the crew are all probably dead..." he muttered.
"I'm sorry, Dominic." Heidi touched his shoulder while the stoic teen stared forward. "...what are you going to do?"
"Well... the ship's gone. Suppose I'll be following you." His dark eyes went to her and she nodded. His bearded face smirked "chosen fire duelist, huh?"
"Yeah... that's me." Heidi admitted.
Dominic didn't usually show much emotion but she could tell he was impressed. He asked "so you sailed with us because you were trying to find the chosen in the north islands. Why were you doing it alone?"
"Usual stuff you could expect. Government corruption, friends dying, dangerous enemies..."
"Come on, you two." Malo waved them after him merrily, they followed him off the narrow wharf and Heidi found herself looking at all the happy young people. Many were shirtless or wearing colourful beach clothing. Bone necklaces and wooden bracelets, some wristbands of bright yellow, pink and green. The polynesian girls were beautiful, wavy haired with clear and shining skin. The polynesian boys were also startlingly attractive, many of them toned and shirtless. It was such a bright and lively atmosphere. Despite her ordeals thus far Heidi wanted to chill out with an icy pineapple drink and start socializing. As they climbed steps to the main building there was more happy chatter and the sound of a stringy banjo. Tourists going by with flower necklaces. Malo led them inside and started talking to the man behind the counter. Once he revealed who Heidi was several patrons turned from their tables to look at her and listen. As Malo continued his story-telling they became enrapt, and soon they wanted the account from Heidi too.
"You came in a boat Heidi, got hit by the hurricane?" a man asked over his meal.
"For a few seconds there, we were inside the hurricane." Heidi confessed, much to the shock of all those listening.
From beside her Dominic didn't say much, but Heidi talked plenty. She recounted her recent events of survival, making a signal fire for help after they made it to the sand bar. The questions kept coming and soon she found herself talking about the coal province, her run-ins with the military and even the atomic bomb. Heidi had so much to talk about that she just kept on going. Everyone listening held on to every word and before she knew it, food and drinks were all paid for and they sat in a cool corner by a fan. The pasta was nicer than anything Heidi had eaten in months. It was proper restaurant food, from opposite her she could tell Dominic was enjoying it too. They drank icy juice with little umbrellas in the glass. When Heidi was done talking Malo's booming voice took over as he stood. Everything felt festive and safe, like they were going to be taken care of and that everything was going to be alright. Someone was going to make calls for Heidi to the embassy, she and Dominic would be allowed a room in the hotel and if they were lucky, in a matter of days Heidi would unite with Kanoa and give her old goal of joining with the chosens a second shot.
『AN: This duel was brought to you thanks to Acuma. We were roleplaying, him as his character Tabitha and me as a demonized Heidi. Just the fun lil stuff you do to make material for fanfiction duels. Anyway Duel Masters HAS changed and Heidi will need a proper deck upgrade soon. Despite what some of you may think I don't want to torment my characters endlessly. We're not in Darkness Arc anymore, we're officially in Nature. And as we know, nature can be formiddable and frightening, it can be untameable, but it can also be a place of healing and growth. I think it's a wonderful follow-up arc after darkness. Anyway no reviews to my other chapter yet because I'm purposely keeping my writing a surprise until 25% of Nature gets done, mwahaha.』
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