Chapter Thirty-Four: Catching Up
"Wow! I'm impressed! This hunk is your brother?" Mai wondered. Everyone laughed at the new arrival. He was devilishly handsome with dark blond hair and azure eyes that matched Saria's. Everyone sat down and caught Ryan up on current events.
"So this Seto Kaiba kidnapped Mom and Dad to acquire the Triforce Destiny Cards? It's not very smart of him to do that when you guys were around as witnesses to the crime. In a court of law, he wouldn't have a chance," Ryan commented. Saria gasped at the impressive brainpower of her elder sibling.
"Yes, that's true, but we think there is more to it than just acquiring a few cards. According to Commander Matson, the cards can either be used for good or evil," Saria said.
"Strange. Must be because of the magic power the cards possess," Yami stated.
"I wonder if we can find more info on the cards in the Courage IX's database?" Serenity wondered. Joey stood up.
"Why don't we go and see?" Joey offered. General consent followed. Minutes later, they were back aboard the ship. Luckily, Matson had good news.
"You're in luck, you two. We found more information regarding your parents. Check it out," Matson informed them, pointing to a TV monitor. The first picture was of Mr. Floyd sitting alone aboard the ship.
"Hi, my name is Patrick Floyd. This file is a confidential record only to be viewed in a time of crisis. This file describes what happened during my adventures as the Hero of Time. My adventures continued after I defeated the madman known as Lance Dragmire. My partner, and at the time girlfriend Becky Grieder, had vanished during a mission. It became my personal mission and it was search and rescue. At the time though, my commanding officer turned traitor and tried to stop me from finding her by framing me for crimes of terrorism and treason. However, his attempts failed and I successfully entered the alternate dimension known as Termina and rescued Becky from some of Lance's followers, the former princess Katia among them. However, little did I know, our lives would never be the same. My cousin Nate found evidence that the Grieders were royalty and as soon as I brought Becky back to our dimension, she was taken away to aid the Hyrulian monarchy." Mr. Floyd explained. Saria stopped the video.
"Whoa! Royalty? Your parents? That's crazy!" Mai exclaimed.
"Strange but true," Matson said sighing.
"How did that...?" Saria stuttered. Ryan snagged the remote from her.
"Lets keep watching and see," Ryan said, pushing play.
"Unfortunately, Nate and I were being dragged away too, back to America. I was under house arrest for crimes I didn't commit and Nate was fired for aiding me. But he wasn't done aiding me. He slipped a device past the guards and with it, I was able to escape and get back to Hyrule into time to stop the assassination attempt on the new princess," Mr. Floyd continued. Ryan stopped the tape.
"Wow, they must have been real heroes," Joey sighed.
"No lie. That was..." Tristan began.
"So romantic," The girls sighed.
"OK, OK, lets keep going. I want to know more," Saria said, nodding to Ryan, who pushed play.
"With the rightful family in power, my name cleared, and my new job as a knight of Hyrule and protector of the princess, I felt life couldn't get better. But unfortunately, that wouldn't last. A year later after I came to stay at the castle, disaster struck. It was a typical mission to break up an arms bazaar in the Calatian Mountain Range. I averted a nuclear disaster but unfortunately unbeknownst to me, I started a political one. The Calatian royalty did not take kindly to our Admiral's original plan to bomb the bazaar. The day after the incident, the Calatian royalty came to visit. Their original plan was to merge the family lines by having Becky marry the prince, Pierre Baden. Naturally, I disagreed but he tried to win her over anyway," Mr. Floyd said, bitterness in his voice. Joey reached over and pushed pause.
"Hey!" The Floyd twins said simultaneously.
"Whoa! Stopping a nuke? Your dad is even cooler than I thought," Joey commented.
"Cool doesn't come close," Saria smiled, pushing play.
"Baden made himself look like a fool when he tried to rape the princess in her own room. I scuffled with him but he got away and I got hurt. It didn't stop me though. After that, the Calatians ran from the castle. To be safe, I left the castle on a quest to get the three Spiritual Stones of Hyrule so I could retrieve the Master Sword from the Temple of Time," Mr. Floyd continued. Saria immediately took the remote and stopped the tape.
"Hold the phone! Did he say the Master Sword?" Saria asked, turning to Commander Matson.
"Yes. Thanks to you guys, we managed to prove that there are indeed two evil destroying swords in this world. Now, would you press play?" Matson replied. Saria pushed play.
"I did retrieve the Master Sword and at the same time, I managed to put together another ancient relic, the Sage Staff. It's a staff with the elemental properties of the Sages of Hyrule," Mr. Floyd continued.
"Sages of Hyrule?" Saria asked, pushing stop again.
"I'll explain. Other than the Hero of Time, there are ten Sages that embody the main elements of Hyrule. They are Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Wind, Earth, Ice, and Time," Matson explained, "Each has magical power that they command. Alone, they command great power and together they have the power to protect Hyrule as well as the rest of the Earth. In fact, one such Sage, the most powerful of them all, is in this room." Everyone looked around, confused.
"So who's the Sage?" Tristan demanded. Matson pointed down at Saria.
"Me? You've got to be kidding! I'm fourteen! I'm no Sage! I can barely control my powers!" Saria said exasperated.
"You can't deny it! You have the Triforce of Wisdom, the Sage of Time's power source. Your mother's line was charged with protecting such a relic," Matson pointed out. Saria sighed.
"Uh, maybe we should continue the tape," Joey said simply, taking the remote and pushed play.
"By using the Master Sword and Sage Staff together, I managed to retrieve the ancient magical medallion known simply as Bombos and a Magic Mirror that could cure curses. Luckily, I had a use for it. During our quest, Becky was hit with a mermaid curse, transforming her into a mermaid. With the mirror and Bombos' intense destructive magic, I felt stronger than before. But as soon as I got it and the mirror, the unthinkable happened. I was teleported to Hyrule Field and was forced to watch as each area was uplifted from the ground, encased in magic and was on its way to the Calatian's space station Noah," Mr. Floyd explained. Joey stopped the tape.
"Space station Noah? We ready about it in recent history!" Tristan said.
"Yeah, can you tell me what it was about, Tristan?" Matson asked. Tristan was stupefied.
"It was a space station designed for biological experiments but terrorists took it over and used it to capture the land of Hyrule," Serenity answered.
"Textbook answer," Matson scoffed, "The teachers who taught you about have no idea what really happened. I think the tape will tell us what really happened there and don't stop it." Joey pushed play.
"Space station Noah was large. If we were going to stop Baden and rescue the people of Hyrule, we would have to take the station by force. Rescue forces broke in with my help and began securing the various sectors. I had a problem however. The monsters that patrolled the station were too powerful even with the Master Sword in my hand. I found an answer to the problem though. It turned out the Triforce of Wisdom had been shattered and scattered throughout the station. With each fragment I recovered, I got new powers and my Master Sword grew in strength. Using the newly acquired powers of super speed, resistance to extreme temperatures, the power to shoot light rings and the power to summon the holy goddess Farore to my body for a brief time, I rescued Becky and took back Hyrule. However, little did I know, my every move was being watched by one of my own. After getting Becky home safely, my father turned traitor and tried to destroy me and the citizens of Hyrule's capital, Hyrule Castle Town. Since every soldier on the base was loyal to my father, we were in trouble and vastly outnumbered. With the aid of the Hyrule Knights, we held back the attack force. But the attack force wasn't our biggest problem. My father had summoned his own version of a creature known as Gohdan the Great Decider to destroy the castle and take back the Triforce of Wisdom fragments I had stolen." Patrick explained. Joey stopped the tape.
"Hey! I told you not to stop it!" Matson said.
"Sorry. But I gotta catch my breath! I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack with the amount of shocks I've been getting," Joey explained.
"Ditto and Yugi hasn't said a thing since we started," Mai agreed, pointing at a gaping Yugi. Joey waved a hand in front of Yugi's face.
"Hello? Earth to King of Games, you there Yugi?" Joey asked snapping his fingers. Yugi shook his head.
"Sorry, it was just so interesting," Yugi admitted.
"Got that right," Tristan agreed.
"Can we play some more?" Ryan asked, snatching the remote from Joey.
"Hold on! There is just one thing scaring me. What did Grandpa want with the Triforce? Why did he turn his back to Dad?" Saria wondered.
"Good question. Maybe we'll find the answer in the tape," Teran said hopefully, wrenching the remote from Ryan's grasp.
"Hey!" He cried as Teran pressed play.
"Luckily, I had seen it coming and rushed back to Hyrule Castle. I had ran as fast as I could but Gohdan had already attacked twice, one attack wiping out a battalion of knights and the second attack gravely wounding the princess to the brink of death. I arrived in time to block the finishing move and I set free the Sages of Shadow and Spirit. With their help, they got Becky away from the battle and I destroyed Gohdan, summoning the new Sage of Wind. Along with the Sage of Ice, I also managed to join forces with a Sheikah warrior who was the Sage of Earth. With the new Sages came real rescue forces. With the aid of Head Commander James Matson, we eliminated the Calatians and got full control of the space station again. We rescued the hostages my father had taken and managed to save the people on board the station from suffocation. I beat back my father with my new powers and with Becky's help, we destroyed him and sent his spirit off for unknown territory. We escaped the self-destructing base and sent Hyrule back to its rightful spot on planet Earth's surface," Mr. Floyd finished. Teran pushed stop.
"But dad never mentioned what caused his dad to turn traitor. That's weird. You would think he'd put that in the video," Saria said, slightly disappointed. She then perked up at Commander Matson who had turned away.
"Wait a sec! You were on space station Noah weren't you?" Saria asked. Matson turned nervously.
"Sorry I never told you," Matson apologized, "And before you ask, no, I don't know why your dad's dad turned traitor. I didn't know your father much then. But this is the end of the tape. Well, now that we've seen your father's past, what do we do now?"
"I know there is more to his past. He never mentioned him and Mom getting engaged or even being pregnant with Saria and me. Commander, is there more?" Ryan asked firmly.
"There is one more tape, but it's locked by a password I can't get past. Only your dad can open it. Speaking of which, we still need to rescue him and your mom before Kaiba gets too far into his plans," Matson informed them.
"But how do we save them? We don't even know where to begin our search," Yami reminded them.
"Not so. Mr. Floyd was wearing his Golden Gauntlets right? Well, they have a micro-transmitter retrofitted into them, allowing us to track him," Matson said slyly.
"That's cool! But Kaiba! He might..." Saria began.
"If you're worried about Kaiba finding the transmitter, it won't happen. The transmitter only responds to the Courage IX's unique transistors. In short, only we can find him," Matson assured her.
"Dad's pretty smart," Ryan stated.
"Yeah, but it's signal is small. It will take time to find him. In the meantime, we're going to continue challenging gym leaders to keep Kaiba guessing what our plans are. Luckily, Mr. Floyd set these aside for Ryan," Matson replied, holding out four medals that matched Saria's.
"It took some work, but he won them for you. Your father would want you to use them," Matson said, Ryan taking the medals out of his hand.
"You're going to need to beat Clayton Tsunami of the Islet of Steel to gain entry into the finals," Matson explained.
"Sure wish I could join you," Mai sighed, "But my parents are meeting me at Outset. I can't stay with you. Sorry." Everyone voiced his or her disappointment, especially Joey.
"Man! That stinks," Joey said crossing his arms across his chest.
"No kidding! My parents disapprove of my playing Duel Monsters as a source of income but they were kind enough to get my watch," Mai said glancing at the LCD display, "I have to go. Later guys! Sure hope you can save the Floyds! Good luck!"
"Bye Mai!" Everyone chorused as she left.
"We'll meet you at the finals and give you an update if things don't change," Joey called.
"Got it! I'll keep an eye out for your parents Saria and Ryan! Until we meet again!" And Mai vanished from view.
"OK, lets go back to the house, grab our stuff and Rush and head north for the Islet of Steel," Saria declared. Everyone did just that and arrived in time for Matson to declare that the Courage IX was flight worthy again. With new thrusters, they would reach the islet in record time. In the meantime, Saria and Ryan sat talking alone in the training room. Saria held the Master Sword and the Hero of Time cards out to Ryan.
"Please take these. You're the older sibling. These are yours. I can't hold on to them," Saria begged. Ryan took the sword but pushed the cards back towards Saria.
"I'll take the sword, you handle the cards," Ryan smiled as he attached the new sheath to his back. Saria reached into her deck and handed Ryan the Princess of Destiny cards.
"Take these then. It'll be like holding me in your deck," Saria advised. Ryan happily took them.
"Excellent. Well, with these cards I have been entrusted with and you and Yugi and the others by my side, I don't we can lose. We'll stop Kaiba: together!" Ryan declared. For the first time in their lives, the two high-fived. After that, Ryan examined his deck and listened as Saria helped him with some of the rarer cards. By the time they reached the Islet of Steel, Ryan felt ready to help win duels. When the ship landed, the first thing that greeted them was a strong old man who wore a general's uniform with tanned skin and fading gray hair. Standing next to him was a strong, teenager with long pointed black hair, tanned skin, a white headband and a blue tank top, black belt, swimming trunks and sandals. On his wrist sat a navy watch. Joey recognized him immediately.
"Mako! Is that you?" Joey wondered. Mako laughed.
"Yes it is! It has been a while my friend," Mako replied, high-fiving Joey, "You still got my Fisherman card?"
"Like I'd try to lose it!" Joey replied. Both laughed.
"Mako Tsunami! It's been a long time," Yugi admitted.
"Yes it has Yugi. But I'm not surprised we'd meet here. If we didn't meet here, it would be at the finals."
"You qualify for the tournament finals?" Mako flashed six bright, shiny medals.
"Yes I do my friends! How are you doing?"
"Joey and I still need one medal. We've been taking it easy this time, trying to enjoy ourselves."
"Like that's possible! We've been too busy to have fun," Saria scoffed.
"Who is this young lady Yugi? Your protégé?" Mako asked.
"The name's Saria and this is my brother Ryan," Saria said, shaking his hand.
"A pleasure. But what have you been up to Yugi? What does she mean you've been busy," Mako wondered.
"It's a long story. We need to speak to the Islet gym leader, someone named Clayton," Joey admitted.
"That would be me. The name's Clayton Tsunami, General of the Hyrulian Knights, Mako's my grandson and I'm the Islet of Steel gym leader. You guys come for a challenge?" The elder man asked.
"Saria and Ryan are. We're just here as support," Yugi said.
"Ah, I see. Well, my arena isn't quite ready yet, so why don't we go to the mess hall and get something to refresh ourselves while we wait?" Clayton offered.
"Sounds good. I'm hungry," Ryan admitted.
"Good, lets go eat and you can tell me what's been going on." At the mess hall, Joey and Tristan had competition. Everyone watched humorously as Joey, Tristan, Serenity and Ryan practically inhaled the freshly cooked fish. While they ate, Saria, Teran and Yugi took turns telling Mako and Clayton about Kaiba.
"So, your parents were kidnapped eh? I've known Mrs. Floyd since when she first came to the castle. A fine woman. You should be proud," Clayton said.
"I am, but I'll never get a chance to tell her if Kaiba..." Saria began but she was caught up in new tears. Teran pulled her in close.
"What's wrong?" Mako asked.
"The events of today are just catching up to her now. She loses her parents, gets her brother back and then learns of her parents' past as heroes. She hasn't had a chance to really take everything in. It all just came in at once," Teran replied for her.
"Well, when your commander finds Mr. Floyd, I'll help you rescue him," Clayton offered. Saria brushed her tears away.
"You don't have to..." Saria began.
"Don't start this it's not necessary stuff there rookie. Your father was a knight. In the knights, you're family and family protect one another. Just have Commander Matson tell me where he is and my boys and I will advance on Kaiba, I promise," Clayton said.
"Thanks. That means a lot," Saria sighed as she toweled her face dry. A private then stepped into the room, mop and bucket in hand.
"Sir! The arena is ready!" the private saluted.
"Then you're dismissed," Clayton said, standing up and turning to Ryan and Saria.
"When you're ready, meet me at the arena. It's through that door," Clayton said. He then left.
"Ready Ryan?" Saria asked. Ryan was just finishing the last fish.
"Yup! Lets rocket!" Ryan declared and everyone left for the arena. Saria and Ryan stepped onto the circular dueling platform.
"Remember this you guys! I can't go easy on you or things might look suspicious OK?" Clayton reminded them.
"We don't want you to go easy! Hit us with everything you got!" Ryan said, putting his shuffled deck into the duel disk. Saria followed suit.
"Besides, the harder you push us, the better we get!" Saria added.
"Right! Now! Make me feel it! Make the years of experience in the Shadow Realm vanish from me! Make me feel alive again!" Ryan challenged.
"OK! Lets duel!" Clayton declared.
Ryan knows how to play Duel Monsters, that much I know, but can he win against a skilled duelist like Clayton? Saria wondered as everyone drew five cards.