Chapter Five: The 'Quick' Duel
"Well, now that Teran is safe, perhaps we should go back to my boat and get more properly acquainted?" Saria suggested. Everybody was in agreement. When everybody was back at Saria's boat, they all sat near the air conditioner in the cabin, cool drinks in hand, the chart they had found spread out on the table. Everybody had become introduced and were now studying the map.
"Guys, I hate to disappoint you, but I can only understand the Hylian text up here in the corner. It says: Open at sundown, closed at sunrise. Two duelists must enter my gym together, Leader Stewart. So, we know this is the chart leading to the gym leader of Windfall," Saria began. Teran pointed at an X in the upper-right hand corner of the map.
"And that must be where the gym is located..." Teran pointed out.
"Yeah, but if that's true, the gym is located offshore in the sea," Serenity added.
"If I remember correctly, there's an old lookout platform at that point. I bet we'll find an elevator or something when we go there," Saria recalled. Tristan nodded.
"Yeah, sounds about right," Tristan agreed. Everybody looked out the window and saw the sun was setting.
"Then lets go to the platform now," Joey suggested. Everybody nodded. Yugi and company prepared to leave when Saria said.
"When you get out to sea, get to the left side of my boat. I want to show you something," Saria told Tristan, who was the designated captain. Saria went into the bridge and started up the speedboat as Teran untied it from the dock. Soon, both speedboats were heading northeast to the platform. When they were at a safe distance, Saria got to the right of Tristan's boat, and everybody watched as the two boats merged, forming one large speedboat! The decks on the backs of the boats were united and the engine's propellers got closer together. Tristan transferred control of the boat to Saria.
"This is cool. We can stay together, and still have our own rooms!" Joey smiled. Saria and Yugi nodded in agreement. Teran pointed out the window.
"There's the platform!" Teran pointed out. Everybody saw it was a lone, solitary platform with a rope ladder hanging down from it. Saria brought the boat close and anchored it. Then everyone but Teran and Joey climbed up. When they reached the top, they saw two picnic tables, some chairs and a door engraved in the column. Saria and Yugi got closer to the door and everyone watched as it opened.
"There's enough room for only two people," Saria pointed out.
"You and I will go then Saria," Yugi replied.
"Be careful you two," Serenity warned as the two duelists got in the elevator. Serenity and Tristan watched as the door shut. The two duelists quickly reached the bottom and exited to see they were in a stadium-like chamber. The room was a Plexiglas dome with podiums for the duelists and the floor was composed of sand. Standing in the center of the room was a man in a blue robe, and he had dark eyes, and red hair. He faced the duelists.
"Welcome challengers. You here for your medal?" The man asked. Yugi and Saria nodded.
"Then, prepare yourself for a two on one duel!" The man replied. Saria and Yugi watched as the man did a back flip onto a platform.
"Step on the platforms over there and I'll explain the rules of our duel," The man commanded. Yugi and Saria stepped on the platforms.
"First of all, my name is Stewart. I'm the leader of Windfall Gym. I'm a lover of the sea and therefore, made my deck based on the rage of the ocean. Why am I a lover of the sea, you might wonder? When I was a kid, I was exploring nearby Dragon Roost Island when I got caught in some quicksand. I was all alone and when I thought all was lost, a Rito saved me from a horrible death. They brave the dangers of the sea, and I decided I would too," Stewart explained.
"What's this got to do with now?" Yugi asked.
"You see, I want you to feel those same feelings of despair, and I'll do it by chaining you to your platforms," Stewart replied. Yugi and Saria gasped as metal bonds attached themselves firmly to their bare ankles.
"And the longer, you take your turn, the lower you sink in that sand! So how quick you can think will affect how long you have before you have to start panicking. To rise out of the sand, you must damage me with your attacks. Finally, I'll have 8000 LP and you'll each have 4000 LP and if either of you runs out of life points, both of you automatically lose the duel! We clear?" Stewart finished. Saria and Yugi nodded.
"Now it's time to duel!" Saria and Yugi replied. Yugi felt the Millennium Puzzle's power activate and Yami come into control.
"Since I'm the gym leader, I choose to go first, and I place a monster in defense mode and one card face down, ending my turn!" Stewart declared.
"Fine, because it's my move!" Saria responded. She glanced nervously at her platform as it slowly began to sink below the sand.
"I place a monster in defense mode too, and I also place one card face down, ending my turn!" Saria declared. Her platform stopped, her feet partially buried in the sand.
"My move, and I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) in attack mode! And then, I'll place two cards, face down, ending my turn!" Yami declared. The sand was up to the top of his heels.
"Most agreeable. I'll play Kabazauls (1700/1500) in attack mode!" Stewart began. Saria and Yugi watched as a walking red rhino appeared.
"Attack the girl's monster!" Stewart commanded. Saria smirked.
"You made a big mistake! You attacked my Mystical Elf (800/2000)!" Saria declared. Stewart stared in shock as his attack failed.
"And because Saria's monster had higher defense than your monster's attack, you lost 300 life points!" Yugi explained. Stewart frowned but wasn't totally shaken.
"That's true, but for now, I place one more card face down, ending my turn!" Stewart replied. Saria glanced nervously at Stewart's down card as she drew.
"I'll sacrifice my elf and summon my Chaos Command Magician (2400/1700)!" Saria declared.
"No you won't! I'm activating Torrential Tribute! It will destroy all monsters on the field, yours and mine!" Stewart responded. Saria and Yugi watched as a wave of water destroyed all of the monsters on the field. Saria was angry at her mistake.
"I'll end my turn," Saria said solemnly. The sand was about an inch below her knees.
"It's time then! With no monsters on the field, Stewart, your life points are wide open! But first I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200)! Attack Stewart directly!" Yami declared. Stewart looked ready to spring his down card but he let the attack go through, reducing his life points to 6200. Yugi had ended his turn, and he was standing above the sand.
"I've had enough of this! I'm activating my field card, A Legendary Ocean!" Stewart shouted angrily. Saria and Yugi watched as the playing field became flooded with a foot of water. What shocked them both was that the water was real!
"Thanks to the magic of my Ocean, I can summon five-star water monsters without having to sacrifice, and I summon my Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600)!" Stewart continued. Saria grimaced as the leader looked her way.
"And I choose to attack the girl! Fisherman! Attack the girl with harpoon of doom!" Stewart commanded. Saria prepared to take the hit when the spear changed course and hit Yugi's Gazelle.
"What happened?" Stewart demanded.
"I activated my trap card, Shift. It automatically lets me change the course of an opponent's attack, and I chose to save my partner!" Yami replied.
"Yes, good for your partner, bad for your life points which dropped to 3450. I'm guessing that you're relying on your partner to save your neck?" Stewart wondered.
"If she can, then I know she will. I believe in her," Yugi replied, glancing at Saria with confidence. Saria drew and gasped, then smirked.
"For my turn, I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away your face down card!" Saria began. Her typhoon blew away Tornado Wall.
"Then, I'll summon Four Sword Hero (1000/1000) in attack mode! I'll then place two more cards face down, ending my turn," Saria finished. She began to worry now that the sand was halfway up her calves.
"My turn! I'll place Big Shield Guardna in defense mode and end my turn!" Yugi said. The sand wasn't at his feet yet.
"For my turn, I'll place a card face down and send my Fisherman to attack the Four Sword Hero!" Stewart declared. Saria smiled at this.
"Not so fast! Reveal Four Sword and Mirror Shield!" Saria interrupted. Stewart frowned as the Four Sword Hero multiplied by four.
"My Four Sword equip magic card multiplies my Four Sword Hero force by four and then doubles each of my monster's attack and defensive power," Saria explained.
"But your monster's attack power is only 2000. My Fisherman still has you beat!" Stewart argued.
"That's where Mirror Shield comes in! It raises my monster's attack points to equal yours! It also allows me to add on any power boosts that your card gets, and finally my monster gains an extra 500 attack and defense points!" Saria finished. Stewart was in shock as his Fisherman was decimated. His life points stood at 5500.
"By that shocked look, I'd say it's my turn! My tokens can't attack you directly, but my Four Sword Hero can! So Four Sword Hero! Attack Stewart directly!" Saria commanded. Stewart smiled evilly as the warrior advanced.
"Now now child! Don't be so hasty to end your game! I activate Ring of Destruction!" Stewart chided. Saria gasped as her monster was ensnared in the trap.
"Your monster will now self-destruct, removing 2500 points from everybody's life points!" Stewart explained. Saria gritted her teeth as her monster blew up and everybody's life points were reduced by 2500. Saria had 1500 LP, Yugi had 950 LP and Stewart held the lead with 3000 LP. Saria was running out of ideas and the water and halfway up her chest.
"I end my turn!" Saria panicked. Yugi glared at Stewart.
"This water hazard is about to dry up as I play the Burning Land magic card! It destroys all field magic cards on the field!" Yugi began. Stewart gasped as his water dried up, leaving Saria feeling relieved.
"Now, I'll sacrifice Big Shield Guardna for Berformet (1400/1800)! Then, I'll use its special ability to summon my second Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200)! Then, I'll activate Polymerization, fusing my two monsters to create Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)! Then, I'll activate my face down card, Quick Attack and have it attack you directly!" Yugi declared. Stewart merely grunted as his life points dropped to 900!
"That will end my turn!" Yugi declared. The platform rose high out of the sand again.
"Then, I'll draw," Stewart began.
"Hold on! Your life points go down by 500 points thanks to the magic of my Burning Land magic card!" Yami interrupted.
"Not for long! I'm playing my Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away your Burning Land!" Stewart began. Yugi and Saria watched as the magic card was blown away.
"Then, I play Legendary Ocean!" Stewart added.
"Not this time! I activate Magic Jammer! I discard a card from my hand to destroy your ocean!" Saria interrupted.
"Big deal! I activate my third one!" Stewart replied. Saria gasped as the water reached to the center of her stomach.
'Then, I summon my second Legendary Fisherman! And thanks to the power boost from my Legendary Ocean, I'll wipe out a Four Sword Hero token!" Stewart finished. Saria could only watch as her warrior was destroyed. Her life points were now at 1450, and it was her turn.
Oh Farore! Please let this be the card I need! Saria prayed. She drew from her deck and whooped in victory.
"Ready Stewart? I sacrifice my two tokens in order to summon my Courageous Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" Saria began. This magician resembled Yugi's Dark Magician, but this one had a cocky smile to it and its robe glimmered a rainbow of colors. The water was nearly to her armpits.
"Then, I play the Diffusion Wave Motion magic card! At the cost of 1000 life points, I can attack all monsters on my opponent's field and negate their effects!" Saria explained, "Go Courageous Dark Magician! Attack Stewart's Legendary Fisherman with diffusion wave magic attack!" The three duelists watched as Saria's monster absorbed magic from around the playing field and zapped the fisherman in a rainbow of magical energy. Stewart went flying as his life points went down to zero.
"Saria we did it!" Yugi cried when he gasped. Saria was now underwater and struggling to hold her breath. As soon as Stewart's life points had hit zero, the clasps on Yugi's and Saria's ankles opened, setting them free: But Saria was still stuck with part of her body underground. Yami returned to the Millennium Puzzle and Yugi quickly rushed to Saria's aid.
"Hold on!" Yugi shouted as he grabbed Saria's hands. Yugi pulled with everything he had as Saria's struggled to not inhale water. The Millennium Puzzle and Saria's hand began to glow as the two struggled. It was then, in a blast of magical energy, Yugi pulled Saria out. Saria gasped for air as Yugi held her.
"You OK, Saria?" Yugi asked. Saria coughed out water and slowly nodded. Stewart activated the drain and the water receded.
"Good work you two. In honor of your victory, take my Ocean Medals!" Stewart congratulated. He extended his hand and inside of it were two sapphire medals with the Legendary Fisherman engraved in it. Both Saria and Yugi took one and pocketed them.
"I'm sorry that I presented such a challenge, and as my apology, I'll explain about what you should do next. The closest island with a medal would be Dragon Roost Island. Head there and do battle with the leader for a Mech Medal," Stewart explained as he reached into his pocket. When his hand came out again, he had two booster packs in his hand. Yugi and Saria both grabbed one as they got up. Saria was still woozy and Yugi had to support her.
"I pray that you two will recover and proceed to the next gym with care," Stewart apologized as the elevator doors opened. Yugi and an exhausted Saria climbed in and they left the arena, wondering how Joey and Teran would fare against the watery duelist.