Chapter Twenty-Six: Kaiba Strikes
Mr. Floyd was currently standing at the docks waiting for the return of Mrs. Floyd and the teens. As he stood at the boarding ramp waiting, a lone figure garbed in white approached him. She was clutching an envelope.
"Excuse me. Are you Mr. Patrick Floyd?" the woman asked.
"That'd be me. What can I do for ya?"
"I need you to deliver a message to a friend of mine."
"Don't know if I can help you there. My wife and my daughter's friends and myself are on our way out of here."
"Good. The message I have is for one of her friends. Yugi Moto to be exact."
"Then why not wait here and give it to him?"
"I can't. I'm in a hurry. Can you please give him this envelope? It's very important." She held up the envelope.
"I suppose I can do that." Mr. Floyd took the envelope.
"That envelope and its contents are for him only. You understand?"
"I understand. I'll make sure it gets into his hands." The woman then turned to leave.
"Wait! Who should I say this is from?"
"A friend." Then a light fog rolled in and Mr. Floyd watched as she walked in and vanished. Then the fog did too.
Who was that? Mr. Floyd wondered. He then sighted the teenagers coming his way, Mrs. Floyd in tow.
"You guys ready to go?" Mr. Floyd asked.
"Yeah, lets head out," Joey replied and soon, the ship was airborne and heading directly north.
"Hey Yugi, someone came by and said to give this to you. Sounded important," Mr. Floyd said, giving Yugi the mysterious letter.
"Thanks. I wonder what's in it?" Yugi wondered as he took a seat at the table with the others.
"What do you got there Yugi?" Joey asked.
"Not sure. I was just about to open it," Yugi replied as he opened the envelope.
"Well? What's in it?" Tristan wondered.
"It's a letter, and judging by the paper, it's very important," Yugi replied. The letter was written on light yellow paper with gold edging. In the corners were Millennium symbols.
"What's it say Yugi?" Serenity asked.
"I'll read it to you. Lets see..."
Yugi,
I trust that this letter made it to you safely. I had an oracle appear to me the other day. She told me that you would be involved in a grand quest to aid new protectors of the Earth. She then gave me instructions on how to find a key tool for them. Naturally, me and my brother took off and it wasn't long before his loyal followers found the tool which turned out to be a card. I was then instructed to go to Outset Island and meet you there, but I was being chased by strange people in dark robes. I didn't have much time to finish this letter with them chasing me. Included in this letter is a card known as the Princess of Destiny. It must go to the one 'who bears the power of Wisdom'. That's what the oracle told me. I fear for you and the Pharaoh's safety so I sent you something else to aid you in your quest to find the Wisdom holder. Use this card to protect you and your friends. I hope for the day that our paths will cross again. As the Hylians say, "May the winds of fortune be at your back."
Sincerely,
Ishizu and Marik Ishtar
"Hey Yugi, that envelope has something else in it," Saria pointed out. In the envelope was some silk that had been wrapped around something. Yugi gently removed the silk and he gasped. Inside were two cards, one blue, one red. The blue one had the image of a beautiful princess that resembled Saria. The princess wore a pink dress, an elaborated crown with a ruby in it, earrings that glittered under the light and she also held a scepter in her silk gloved hands. The other card had the image of a red colored dragon with what looked like two mouths. Its long body seemed to go on forever. It's star level was twelve and its attack and defense values were unknown. It was then Yami's spirit merged with Yugi's.
"I don't believe it!" Yami said awed. Joey realized what Yugi had.
"That's Slifer the Sky Dragon! Your Egyptian God Card from Battle City!" Joey realized.
"You're right. It looks I'm fated to carry it again," Yami said as he held the card out for all to see. Saria was more engrossed however at the other card. Saria took it into her hands and studied the ritual monster. Something was drawing her to the card.
"Hey Yugi, can I hold on to this card?" Saria asked, pointing towards the Princess of Destiny. Yami nodded.
"Sure. Of course I'll need it eventually," Yami said. Saria nodded and she put the precious card in her jacket pocket.
MEANWHILE, AT KAIBACORP HQ, WINDFALL ISLAND...
"Sir, we found the cards," An analyst said. Kaiba was at his side immediately.
"Who has them?"
"Saria Floyd, the daughter of one of your gym leaders sir."
"Which island?"
"Outset sir. Until a little while anyway. He called us and told us that his gym had to be closed. His mayor's orders."
"Bring up her status." A screen showed Saria's duel statistics. Kaiba gasped as he read over her status.
"Yugi Moto. Should have known he'd be there."
"Sir?"
"Nothing. Where is she now?"
"She just left Outset with several other duelists, one who has been removed from the tournament."
"Is it Joey Wheeler?"
"Excuse me?"
"Was Wheeler the one knocked out of the tournament?"
"No sir. It was an Outset local, Teran Katan. He got knocked out in a duel with Mr. Floyd."
"Take a break."
"Yes sir," And the analyst left. Kaiba promptly took up his spot.
"Well, Mr. Floyd. Lets see what you're hiding from me..." Kaiba mumbled as he began to hack into the Floyd computers.
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE COURAGE IX...
"Like this Saria!" Mr. Floyd instructed. He and Saria were in the training room of the ship. Saria and Mr. Floyd had changed into white training gear. Mr. Floyd was currently in the middle of teaching her a new kick. He aimed for Saria's waist, then quickly redirected his foot to hit the back of her knee instead to bring her down to her knees.
"Try it now!" Mr. Floyd said. Saria let loose with several punches and kicks, which Patrick dodged easily. She then tried the new maneuver only to accidentally kick her father in the waist instead of the back of the knee.
"No! That's not it! You need to fake the kick to make sure you hit your real target. If I had grabbed your leg, I could have put you on your back and made you defenseless. Now, try again," Mr. Floyd said frustrated. Saria again pulled off the usual moves and this performed the move flawlessly.
"Not bad rookie. You're getting better. Lets take five," Mr. Floyd said as he sat down on a nearby bench and sipped from a water bottle. Saria joined him at the bench and toweled her soaked head. Mrs. Floyd then poked her head into the room.
"Patrick, can I speak to you a moment alone?" Becky asked.
"Sure. I'll be right back Saria," Patrick replied. He stood up and the two left. Saria couldn't help being curious about what her parents were talking about. She pressed her ear to the wall and listened.
"Patrick. Serenity just finished telling me about their trip through the Iceberg Canal."
"So?"
"They were attacked by Ice Keese and then someone named Aerisia forced her and Joey into a duel."
"So? Ice Keese are common in that region."
"Aerisia is the full name of Aeris remember?" Saria gasped.
"You don't think Aeris actually...?"
"I just finished speaking to her. She was possessed by evil forces."
"Could she give a description?"
"Said it was someone with brown hair and cold blue eyes. He wore a black cape. That's all she can remember."
"You don't think...?"
"We have to tell her. We have to her the truth about..."
"No! It's too early. He's not ready yet."
"I know, but... Yugi could help!"
"What?"
"His Millennium Puzzle has magical power that can repel the power of the Shadow Realm. He could help us!"
"No! You know my code of conduct."
"I know. You don't involve civilians. But that was from the days when you were a knight! That was before we had...!"
"We'll discuss this later. I have to get back to Saria before she suspects something."
"Right. I just wish you would let me tell her."
"After the tower, we'll tell her everything. I promise."
"OK, get going." It was then Saria sat down, and took a sip from her water bottle.
What's going on around here? My parents are sure acting strange. Saria thought as she took one last swig of her water. It was then her dad came back in.
"Ready to go again?" Mr. Floyd asked. Saria nodded. After two more hours of grueling swordplay and judo training, Saria was free to shower and join the others in the recreation room where Joey and Tristan were shooting pool while Teran and Serenity were sitting at the bar talking over ginger ale. Yugi was sitting by the window staring at the cards he had laid out on the table. Saria just stood in the doorway for a moment watching Joey and Tristan shoot.
"OK Tristan. Watch this move," Joey said as he aimed for a yellow ball in the corner. He struck the cue ball and watched as it missed the yellow ball and struck one of Tristan's striped balls and knocked it in.
"Thanks Joey," Tristan grinned.
"No problem," Joey mumbled as he watched Tristan aim for another. Saria walked past and headed straight for the bar where her mom waited.
"Hey Mom," Saria said as she sat down on a stool.
"Hey sweetheart. Hungry? Thirsty? The others already ate," Mrs. Floyd replied.
"I'm a little hungry I guess. I'll have whatever they had," Saria said. Mrs. Floyd handed her a plate with corn on the cob. The next several minutes, Saria was busy eating. When she finished, she handed her plate to her mom who rinsed it off in the sink.
"Somebody was hungry," Mrs. Floyd noticed as she washed the plate.
"I'm amazed I have the strength to be hungry," Saria breathed.
"Your dad give you crap about training again?"
"Yup. He made me do a long lesson."
"Did you learn anything?"
"Learned some new kick and advanced sword moves. I don't see myself using them anytime soon."
"You never know."
MEANWHILE, AT KAIBACORP..."So, Mr. Floyd is a knight. Impressive kill record for when he was eighteen," Kaiba mumbled as he read over Mr. Floyd's statistics he had hacked out of the Floyd Industries database.
"It looks like he also had a hand in several other missions as a kid. Look at these," Mokuba said, pointing at several other parts in the documents.
"So, he was serving the USA when he was fourteen as a YAF (Youth American Forces) agent. He was also the first young agent to time travel too. Also served with a Dragan as the first human-alien partnership," Kaiba noticed, looking at a picture of a younger Mr. Floyd and an alien who resembled a short human, but had the head of a dragon.
"I wonder what caused him to leave the USA?" Mokuba wondered.
"Says here he was betrayed by his superiors. Framed for crimes he didn't commit. Interesting. But, the details aren't here. They are either missing, or listed in another database," Kaiba replied.
"Better try another database," Mokuba said. Kaiba shook his head.
"Can't right now Mokuba. I need to get back to the tournament, then I'll continue my work while I wait for the pathetic finalists to show themselves," Kaiba said and he left the computer room.
Yugi! I'll get you at the finals after I deal with that traitorous Floyd. Kaiba thought as he hopped into a chopper, ready to take him to a neighboring island.