Chapter Seven: Family of Warriors
The next morning, everyone woke up to the sight of a hearty breakfast cooked up by Tristan and Serenity.
"Whoa! I didn't know you could cook like this Tristan! These eggs are great!" Yugi complemented as he took a forkful.
"Well, all of you need your strength if you're going to duel today. It's the second day of the tournament and the competition is going to be fierce," Serenity said as she took a seat on a deck chair.
"Thanks sis. This was very thoughtful of you both, but why don't we kill two birds with one stone by discussing about what we should do next?" Joey suggested. Everybody nodded as Saria activated her laptop and placed a small holo-generator in the center of the table. She linked them together and everyone watched as a map of the Great Sea appeared. Saria pointed at an island two sectors east of Windfall.
"That island there is Dragon Roost. It's known mainly for being the home island of the Rito tribe, which are a tribe of bird people unique to this land. Atop the mountain is a large dragon named Valoo, and he is the guardian of the island. I have a friend on the island named Quill. He's our postman but is very passionate and kind," Saria explained.
"He's also an advisor to the Rito chieftain, Skylar. If anyone would know where the gym leader is on Dragon Roost, Quill certainly will," Teran added. Joey then leaped out of his chair.
"Then what are we waitin' for? Lets go!" Joey demanded. As soon as everyone had finished, the boat was shooting out of the harbor for Dragon Roost.
"At the rate we're going, we should reach Dragon Roost in an hour or two," Saria calculated. Tristan had volunteered to pilot the boat to the island. Saria had activated one more feature on the boat: The ability to cover the deck and make it a whole other room, like a houseboat. Everyone but Tristan had gathered at the table, boosters from Stewart in hand.
"Ready? On the count of three..." Saria said.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..." On three, all four duelists opened their packs and were happy with their new acquisitions. A few substituted the new cards with old ones. The duelists spent the hour studying up on the island, and in no time at all, they were pulling into the busy harbor of Dragon Roost. Like the other islands, this one was an island with a maze of canals surrounding it.
But the island itself was a giant mountain, nearly reaching into the clouds. Tristan pulled the boat into a nearby dock and made it fast. Soon, the group was walking up the mountain path. As they walked through a small alcove, they saw a person in fine work clothes standing with his back to the group.
"Excuse me sir. Can you help us find a Rito named Quill?" Saria asked. The person turned around and everyone but Saria and Teran gasped. This figure had human eyes and a mouth but where it's nose should've been was a bird beak. His ears were pointed like Saria's and Teran's though.
"Quill? Sorry about that. I didn't recognize you at first," Saria apologized.
"No need to apologize Lady Saria. It's good to see you though," Quill replied as he gave a low bow. Saria and Teran returned it then turned to face Yugi and the others.
"Everyone, this is Quill," Saria introduced.
"Hi," The group chorused. Quill bowed for them as well. Intros were made then Saria asked.
"Hey, Quill, we were wondering if you knew where we could find the gym leader of Dragon Roost? Yugi, Joey, Teran and I have to get the Mech Medal, and since you're the most knowledgeable person on the island, we figured..."
"That I would know where you could find him? Smart thinking and you're right. But right now may not be the best time to duel. We have a problem here. Why not come in and I'll let the chieftain explain?" Quill suggested.
"OK, why not?" Teran replied.
"Agreed. Come in everyone!" Quill said. He then flew off to a small cave up the path. Saria and company quickly followed. They were amazed by the inside of the cave. It was lit by electric lamps and other Ritos were busy, hauling bags of mail around, others getting ready to make their deliveries.
But in the center of the two-story cave was Quill and three other Ritos, one more finely dressed than the other two. The other two were carrying spears and were obviously guards. The finely dressed Rito wore a crown, white robe set with various jewels and gold cuffs. Saria and the others quickly went over to see them.
"Greetings to you all," The finely dressed Rito said.
"Everyone, this is Skylar, Chieftain of the Rito tribe and the leader of Dragon Roost Island. Chieftain, this is Lady Saria Floyd and her friends, Sir Teran Katan, Tristan Taylor, Yugi Moto, and Sir Joey and Lady Serenity Wheeler. Teran, Yugi, Joey and Saria are all competitors in the tournament," Quill introduced. The duelists bowed to the chieftain.
"Ah, yes. More opponents for my son, Komali, that is, if we could get him to duel again," the chieftain said.
"What's going on here? Quill told us something was wrong," Yugi asked. Yugi felt Yami listening in on the conversation.
"As you can see, we of the Rito tribe are profoundly connected with the sky. We make our livings on the airways. We do so with the help of Valoo, the sky spirit. When a Rito reaches adulthood, he or she must climb to the top of Dragon Roost using the path we call Dragon Roost Cavern. When they reach the end of the path, they must get a scale from Valoo and use it to help them grow their wings," The chieftain began, "My son Komali was on his way up to get a scale when..." when a woman who looked a lot like Saria appeared from another doorway. She was dressed in battle armor and was carrying an old staff. Saria looked her way and smiled.
"Mom!" Saria cried as she rushed over to the woman. The two embraced.
"It's so good to see you," The woman replied. Saria pulled her over towards Yugi and the others.
"Mom, these are my new friends, Yugi, Joey, Serenity, and Tristan. Everyone, this is my mother, Rebecca," Saria introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Becky stated.
"We all met at Windfall Island, Mrs. Floyd. Yugi and his friends helped me and Saria out when we were attacked," Teran explained. Becky gasped at this. The chieftain silently waited.
"You were attacked? By who?"
"The local gang on Windfall Island, the Card Sharks. They forced me and Teran to duel, but with the help of Yugi and his friends, we won and even found the location of a gym leader," Saria said.
"Did you challenge the gym leader?"
"Yes, but it wasn't easy..." Saria began. She went into detail about what had conspired in the gym arena when Yugi and her had dueled Stewart. Becky spaced out in thought.
"It was because of Yugi that I didn't drown," Saria finished.
"Saria, when you dueled Stewart, did you hear a courageous sounding voice in your head?" Becky asked.
"No, should I have?" Becky looked down at her daughter's hand.
"I think we have a problem..." Becky began when several Ritos appeared from the doorway Becky had taken.
"Chieftain! More monsters are appearing in Dragon Roost Cavern and they're coming this way!" A Rito said. Everyone gasped.
"This is what I was trying to explain. Monsters in the cavern attacked Komali and my men had to save him. He's too scared to duel right now," The chieftain quickly explained, "There are supposed to be no monsters in Dragon Roost Cavern, but someone put them in there. We've been trying to clear out the cave since!"
"Chieftain! What are we going to do?" The Rito guard asked frantically. Becky looked at Yugi and his friends.
"You six had better go join the Rito women and children upstairs and hide! The Rito guards and I will handle this!" Becky declared. Everyone but Saria ran upstairs.
"I'll fight too!" Saria declared. Becky stared at her daughter for a second. Her hand was faintly glowing.
"No, go upstairs with Yugi and his friends. I can handle this."
"No! I've been trained to fight, and that's what I'll do!" Saria argued as strange pig-looking warriors bearing sticks, torches and machetes appeared. Becky held her staff in a defensive pose, protecting them both as they became surrounded. Yugi and co. peeked over the ledge and became worried.
"This isn't good guys," Joey said.
"They need help," Yugi said as Yugi's duel disk watch and Millennium Puzzle began to glow. Yami took over Yugi's body again and activated the duel disk.
"Then we shall summon help!" Yami stated as he drew from his deck. He smiled at the card he drew. Everyone was looking at him.
"Go Dark Magician! Attack those monsters with dark magic attack!" Yami commanded as he placed the card on the duel disk. Everyone watched as the Dark Magician appeared behind Yugi from a dark vortex. Becky and Saria watched as the Dark Magician's attack obliterated several of the monsters. Saria hid behind her mom as several of the monsters, known as Bokoblins, attacked. Becky held out her staff in a defensive posture to block their swords. Teran couldn't take anymore of this and pulled a card out of his deck.
"Yugi! Summon my Dark Blade!" Teran commanded as he handed Yugi the card. Yami nodded and placed the card on the duel disk. Dark Blade began to unleash his sword of vengeance on the Bokoblins. Meanwhile, Joey and Tristan had found some metal rods to use as weapons.
"Lets do it!" Joey commanded as he and Tristan jumped off the second floor landing.
"Joey! Tristan! Be careful!" Serenity cried. But Tristan and Joey were too busy beating back the Bokoblins. Serenity looked around and saw a strange white handled sword sticking out of a pink backpack. Serenity pulled the blade out and looked down at Saria, who was using judo to fend off attackers.
"Saria! Catch!" Serenity shouted as she tossed the blade over the railing. Saria caught it by the hilt as some Bokoblins began to run towards Yami and Serenity. Joey noticed this and gasped.
"Serenity! Yugi! Watch out!" Joey shouted. Yami turned to see a stick rushing to meet his head. He was knocked back against the wall. Serenity tried to tackle the Bokoblin only to be hit by its fist then thrown over the railing. She was about to hit the floor when she vanished in a flash of white light. She rematerialized next to Yami, who was still shaken from the blow.
The Bokoblin was rushing towards them, stick poised when its head vanished in a flash of blue light. The Bokoblin then disappeared in a flash of dark smoke, revealing a man carrying a laser sword. He had brown hair and brown eyes, a muscular build and was decked out for battle. The man sheathed his laser sword and went over to the two teens. He deftly pulled Serenity and Yami to their feet.
"You two alright?" The man asked. Yami and Serenity nodded weakly.
"Stay here!" The man commanded. He then leapt down and joined the battle.
Who was that Yugi? Yami asked.
We saw him with Saria and Teran the day we arrived on Windfall. He must be related to them. Yugi surmised.
Probably. Yami replied. Yami then relinquished control of Yugi's body back to Yugi. Serenity and Yugi hid behind a counter as the sound of battle continued. Down on the floor, Tristan and Joey stood back to back, beating back Bokoblins with their metal rods. The numbers had thinned out, but the enemy was still being relentless in their attack.
But when the man that had rescued Yami and Serenity appeared, the Bokoblins quickly backed off and began to make for the exit. Everyone watched as the man pulled out a blue and silver shield with multiple seals on it. The shield began to glow as the man aimed it in the Bokoblins' direction. The monsters panicked as beams of energy fired out of the shield, making them all vanish in a flash of dark smoke. When all of the monsters were gone, Becky ran over to the man and kissed him on the lips with everyone looking on.
"Thanks honey. You were just in time," Becky told him.
"I'm just glad I got here when I did," The man replied. Yugi and friends walked up to him. When the man saw Saria, Saria quickly ran to him and hugged him. When they finished, Saria asked them all over.
"Everyone, this is my dad, Commander Patrick Floyd of the Hyrulian Knights, Division 42," Saria explained. Patrick nodded a greeting. Joey, Tristan, Teran and Yugi quickly shook hands with him and Patrick kissed the back of Serenity's left hand.
"Charmed to meet you all. My daughter has given me a long title," Patrick replied. Saria gave him a smug look.
"Why? Mom and I know you love your hard earned title," Saria smirked. Patrick was about to retort when a young Rito child, dressed in garb similar to Skylar, and the chieftain approached the group.
"Well done, Commander. I should've been surprised that you could take out those dreadful creatures," Skylar said.
"I can't take all the credit. This young man and his friends gave me and my wife a hand," Patrick replied indicating Yugi and his friends. The Rito boy looked down at the ground nervously as he turned to leave. Skylar noticed this and grabbed the boy by the shoulders. He led him back.
"Everyone, this is my son Komali," Skylar introduced, "Komali, don't you want to say something to these nice folks?" Komali looked up and saw everyone staring at him kindly.
"I heard everything that happened," Komali said, staring at Saria and her family, "If I had been braver, I would've helped too." Skylar put a comforting arm around Komali's shoulder.
"He's been trained in self-defense," Skylar explained. Komali then looked up again, this time at the four competitors.
"I also heard you four are duelists and that you wish to challenge me," Komali continued, "I'll duel you all, one at a time starting with the blond girl." Saria nodded.
"Whoa! All six of you are going to duel Komali?" Patrick asked.
"We're here only as support. Joey and Yugi are competing." Serenity and Tristan replied. Patrick nodded then caught himself. He did a double take at Joey and Yugi.
"You two are Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler?" Patrick asked. Yami and Joey nodded.
"Yep, and these are my friends, Tristan Taylor and Serenity Wheeler," Yami replied indicating Tristan and Serenity.
"Well now that I know who you all are, may I suggest something to you?" Patrick asked. Everyone nodded.
"If you all duel Komali, you'll fall behind in the tournament. I suggest Saria duels Komali, and you three boys head northeast to Overlook Island. There's a very secluded gym there," Patrick suggested, "The gym there duels one on three so you can get done faster."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yugi replied, "What do you think you guys?" Teran and Joey nodded in agreement.
"OK, you'll all head to Overlook Island while I stay here and duel for the Mech Medal?" Saria asked.
"We're staying here to watch you duel first, then we'll all head to Overlook together," Tristan replied. Saria nodded, not knowing that her hand was beginning to glow. Her father noticed it but didn't say anything.
The light of friendship is beginning to shine through. But the coming darkness might erase that if we don't figure out where the sacred sword is. Patrick thought.
The next morning, everyone woke up to the sight of a hearty breakfast cooked up by Tristan and Serenity.
"Whoa! I didn't know you could cook like this Tristan! These eggs are great!" Yugi complemented as he took a forkful.
"Well, all of you need your strength if you're going to duel today. It's the second day of the tournament and the competition is going to be fierce," Serenity said as she took a seat on a deck chair.
"Thanks sis. This was very thoughtful of you both, but why don't we kill two birds with one stone by discussing about what we should do next?" Joey suggested. Everybody nodded as Saria activated her laptop and placed a small holo-generator in the center of the table. She linked them together and everyone watched as a map of the Great Sea appeared. Saria pointed at an island two sectors east of Windfall.
"That island there is Dragon Roost. It's known mainly for being the home island of the Rito tribe, which are a tribe of bird people unique to this land. Atop the mountain is a large dragon named Valoo, and he is the guardian of the island. I have a friend on the island named Quill. He's our postman but is very passionate and kind," Saria explained.
"He's also an advisor to the Rito chieftain, Skylar. If anyone would know where the gym leader is on Dragon Roost, Quill certainly will," Teran added. Joey then leaped out of his chair.
"Then what are we waitin' for? Lets go!" Joey demanded. As soon as everyone had finished, the boat was shooting out of the harbor for Dragon Roost.
"At the rate we're going, we should reach Dragon Roost in an hour or two," Saria calculated. Tristan had volunteered to pilot the boat to the island. Saria had activated one more feature on the boat: The ability to cover the deck and make it a whole other room, like a houseboat. Everyone but Tristan had gathered at the table, boosters from Stewart in hand.
"Ready? On the count of three..." Saria said.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..." On three, all four duelists opened their packs and were happy with their new acquisitions. A few substituted the new cards with old ones. The duelists spent the hour studying up on the island, and in no time at all, they were pulling into the busy harbor of Dragon Roost. Like the other islands, this one was an island with a maze of canals surrounding it.
But the island itself was a giant mountain, nearly reaching into the clouds. Tristan pulled the boat into a nearby dock and made it fast. Soon, the group was walking up the mountain path. As they walked through a small alcove, they saw a person in fine work clothes standing with his back to the group.
"Excuse me sir. Can you help us find a Rito named Quill?" Saria asked. The person turned around and everyone but Saria and Teran gasped. This figure had human eyes and a mouth but where it's nose should've been was a bird beak. His ears were pointed like Saria's and Teran's though.
"Quill? Sorry about that. I didn't recognize you at first," Saria apologized.
"No need to apologize Lady Saria. It's good to see you though," Quill replied as he gave a low bow. Saria and Teran returned it then turned to face Yugi and the others.
"Everyone, this is Quill," Saria introduced.
"Hi," The group chorused. Quill bowed for them as well. Intros were made then Saria asked.
"Hey, Quill, we were wondering if you knew where we could find the gym leader of Dragon Roost? Yugi, Joey, Teran and I have to get the Mech Medal, and since you're the most knowledgeable person on the island, we figured..."
"That I would know where you could find him? Smart thinking and you're right. But right now may not be the best time to duel. We have a problem here. Why not come in and I'll let the chieftain explain?" Quill suggested.
"OK, why not?" Teran replied.
"Agreed. Come in everyone!" Quill said. He then flew off to a small cave up the path. Saria and company quickly followed. They were amazed by the inside of the cave. It was lit by electric lamps and other Ritos were busy, hauling bags of mail around, others getting ready to make their deliveries.
But in the center of the two-story cave was Quill and three other Ritos, one more finely dressed than the other two. The other two were carrying spears and were obviously guards. The finely dressed Rito wore a crown, white robe set with various jewels and gold cuffs. Saria and the others quickly went over to see them.
"Greetings to you all," The finely dressed Rito said.
"Everyone, this is Skylar, Chieftain of the Rito tribe and the leader of Dragon Roost Island. Chieftain, this is Lady Saria Floyd and her friends, Sir Teran Katan, Tristan Taylor, Yugi Moto, and Sir Joey and Lady Serenity Wheeler. Teran, Yugi, Joey and Saria are all competitors in the tournament," Quill introduced. The duelists bowed to the chieftain.
"Ah, yes. More opponents for my son, Komali, that is, if we could get him to duel again," the chieftain said.
"What's going on here? Quill told us something was wrong," Yugi asked. Yugi felt Yami listening in on the conversation.
"As you can see, we of the Rito tribe are profoundly connected with the sky. We make our livings on the airways. We do so with the help of Valoo, the sky spirit. When a Rito reaches adulthood, he or she must climb to the top of Dragon Roost using the path we call Dragon Roost Cavern. When they reach the end of the path, they must get a scale from Valoo and use it to help them grow their wings," The chieftain began, "My son Komali was on his way up to get a scale when..." when a woman who looked a lot like Saria appeared from another doorway. She was dressed in battle armor and was carrying an old staff. Saria looked her way and smiled.
"Mom!" Saria cried as she rushed over to the woman. The two embraced.
"It's so good to see you," The woman replied. Saria pulled her over towards Yugi and the others.
"Mom, these are my new friends, Yugi, Joey, Serenity, and Tristan. Everyone, this is my mother, Rebecca," Saria introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Becky stated.
"We all met at Windfall Island, Mrs. Floyd. Yugi and his friends helped me and Saria out when we were attacked," Teran explained. Becky gasped at this. The chieftain silently waited.
"You were attacked? By who?"
"The local gang on Windfall Island, the Card Sharks. They forced me and Teran to duel, but with the help of Yugi and his friends, we won and even found the location of a gym leader," Saria said.
"Did you challenge the gym leader?"
"Yes, but it wasn't easy..." Saria began. She went into detail about what had conspired in the gym arena when Yugi and her had dueled Stewart. Becky spaced out in thought.
"It was because of Yugi that I didn't drown," Saria finished.
"Saria, when you dueled Stewart, did you hear a courageous sounding voice in your head?" Becky asked.
"No, should I have?" Becky looked down at her daughter's hand.
"I think we have a problem..." Becky began when several Ritos appeared from the doorway Becky had taken.
"Chieftain! More monsters are appearing in Dragon Roost Cavern and they're coming this way!" A Rito said. Everyone gasped.
"This is what I was trying to explain. Monsters in the cavern attacked Komali and my men had to save him. He's too scared to duel right now," The chieftain quickly explained, "There are supposed to be no monsters in Dragon Roost Cavern, but someone put them in there. We've been trying to clear out the cave since!"
"Chieftain! What are we going to do?" The Rito guard asked frantically. Becky looked at Yugi and his friends.
"You six had better go join the Rito women and children upstairs and hide! The Rito guards and I will handle this!" Becky declared. Everyone but Saria ran upstairs.
"I'll fight too!" Saria declared. Becky stared at her daughter for a second. Her hand was faintly glowing.
"No, go upstairs with Yugi and his friends. I can handle this."
"No! I've been trained to fight, and that's what I'll do!" Saria argued as strange pig-looking warriors bearing sticks, torches and machetes appeared. Becky held her staff in a defensive pose, protecting them both as they became surrounded. Yugi and co. peeked over the ledge and became worried.
"This isn't good guys," Joey said.
"They need help," Yugi said as Yugi's duel disk watch and Millennium Puzzle began to glow. Yami took over Yugi's body again and activated the duel disk.
"Then we shall summon help!" Yami stated as he drew from his deck. He smiled at the card he drew. Everyone was looking at him.
"Go Dark Magician! Attack those monsters with dark magic attack!" Yami commanded as he placed the card on the duel disk. Everyone watched as the Dark Magician appeared behind Yugi from a dark vortex. Becky and Saria watched as the Dark Magician's attack obliterated several of the monsters. Saria hid behind her mom as several of the monsters, known as Bokoblins, attacked. Becky held out her staff in a defensive posture to block their swords. Teran couldn't take anymore of this and pulled a card out of his deck.
"Yugi! Summon my Dark Blade!" Teran commanded as he handed Yugi the card. Yami nodded and placed the card on the duel disk. Dark Blade began to unleash his sword of vengeance on the Bokoblins. Meanwhile, Joey and Tristan had found some metal rods to use as weapons.
"Lets do it!" Joey commanded as he and Tristan jumped off the second floor landing.
"Joey! Tristan! Be careful!" Serenity cried. But Tristan and Joey were too busy beating back the Bokoblins. Serenity looked around and saw a strange white handled sword sticking out of a pink backpack. Serenity pulled the blade out and looked down at Saria, who was using judo to fend off attackers.
"Saria! Catch!" Serenity shouted as she tossed the blade over the railing. Saria caught it by the hilt as some Bokoblins began to run towards Yami and Serenity. Joey noticed this and gasped.
"Serenity! Yugi! Watch out!" Joey shouted. Yami turned to see a stick rushing to meet his head. He was knocked back against the wall. Serenity tried to tackle the Bokoblin only to be hit by its fist then thrown over the railing. She was about to hit the floor when she vanished in a flash of white light. She rematerialized next to Yami, who was still shaken from the blow.
The Bokoblin was rushing towards them, stick poised when its head vanished in a flash of blue light. The Bokoblin then disappeared in a flash of dark smoke, revealing a man carrying a laser sword. He had brown hair and brown eyes, a muscular build and was decked out for battle. The man sheathed his laser sword and went over to the two teens. He deftly pulled Serenity and Yami to their feet.
"You two alright?" The man asked. Yami and Serenity nodded weakly.
"Stay here!" The man commanded. He then leapt down and joined the battle.
Who was that Yugi? Yami asked.
We saw him with Saria and Teran the day we arrived on Windfall. He must be related to them. Yugi surmised.
Probably. Yami replied. Yami then relinquished control of Yugi's body back to Yugi. Serenity and Yugi hid behind a counter as the sound of battle continued. Down on the floor, Tristan and Joey stood back to back, beating back Bokoblins with their metal rods. The numbers had thinned out, but the enemy was still being relentless in their attack.
But when the man that had rescued Yami and Serenity appeared, the Bokoblins quickly backed off and began to make for the exit. Everyone watched as the man pulled out a blue and silver shield with multiple seals on it. The shield began to glow as the man aimed it in the Bokoblins' direction. The monsters panicked as beams of energy fired out of the shield, making them all vanish in a flash of dark smoke. When all of the monsters were gone, Becky ran over to the man and kissed him on the lips with everyone looking on.
"Thanks honey. You were just in time," Becky told him.
"I'm just glad I got here when I did," The man replied. Yugi and friends walked up to him. When the man saw Saria, Saria quickly ran to him and hugged him. When they finished, Saria asked them all over.
"Everyone, this is my dad, Commander Patrick Floyd of the Hyrulian Knights, Division 42," Saria explained. Patrick nodded a greeting. Joey, Tristan, Teran and Yugi quickly shook hands with him and Patrick kissed the back of Serenity's left hand.
"Charmed to meet you all. My daughter has given me a long title," Patrick replied. Saria gave him a smug look.
"Why? Mom and I know you love your hard earned title," Saria smirked. Patrick was about to retort when a young Rito child, dressed in garb similar to Skylar, and the chieftain approached the group.
"Well done, Commander. I should've been surprised that you could take out those dreadful creatures," Skylar said.
"I can't take all the credit. This young man and his friends gave me and my wife a hand," Patrick replied indicating Yugi and his friends. The Rito boy looked down at the ground nervously as he turned to leave. Skylar noticed this and grabbed the boy by the shoulders. He led him back.
"Everyone, this is my son Komali," Skylar introduced, "Komali, don't you want to say something to these nice folks?" Komali looked up and saw everyone staring at him kindly.
"I heard everything that happened," Komali said, staring at Saria and her family, "If I had been braver, I would've helped too." Skylar put a comforting arm around Komali's shoulder.
"He's been trained in self-defense," Skylar explained. Komali then looked up again, this time at the four competitors.
"I also heard you four are duelists and that you wish to challenge me," Komali continued, "I'll duel you all, one at a time starting with the blond girl." Saria nodded.
"Whoa! All six of you are going to duel Komali?" Patrick asked.
"We're here only as support. Joey and Yugi are competing." Serenity and Tristan replied. Patrick nodded then caught himself. He did a double take at Joey and Yugi.
"You two are Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler?" Patrick asked. Yami and Joey nodded.
"Yep, and these are my friends, Tristan Taylor and Serenity Wheeler," Yami replied indicating Tristan and Serenity.
"Well now that I know who you all are, may I suggest something to you?" Patrick asked. Everyone nodded.
"If you all duel Komali, you'll fall behind in the tournament. I suggest Saria duels Komali, and you three boys head northeast to Overlook Island. There's a very secluded gym there," Patrick suggested, "The gym there duels one on three so you can get done faster."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yugi replied, "What do you think you guys?" Teran and Joey nodded in agreement.
"OK, you'll all head to Overlook Island while I stay here and duel for the Mech Medal?" Saria asked.
"We're staying here to watch you duel first, then we'll all head to Overlook together," Tristan replied. Saria nodded, not knowing that her hand was beginning to glow. Her father noticed it but didn't say anything.
The light of friendship is beginning to shine through. But the coming darkness might erase that if we don't figure out where the sacred sword is. Patrick thought.