Chapter Thirty-Seven: Kaiba VS Teran

"So, Saria sent a messenger for her eh?" Kaiba smirked staring at his guards' catch. Teran had been caught while he was searching for the island gym leader and then had been forced to Needle Rock Tower at gunpoint. Now he was staring at his enemy, who was wearing black despite the scorching temperature.

"Yeah, that's right. And you know what? She says that you can't have the Triforce Destiny Cards! They aren't yours and you'll never get them," Teran said.

"Is that so?" Kaiba asked as stepped towards Teran. He looked straight at Teran and frowned.

"I don't like people who disagree with me. Now, where's the little Floyd? Answer me!" Kaiba demanded to know. Teran got right up in his face.

"I ain't telling you shit! Now let my friend's parents go, now!" Teran whispered. Kaiba pushed Teran back into his two thugs.

"Hold him! She'll have to come to us eventually," Kaiba said as Teran struggled helplessly.

MEANWHILE, AT THE TOWER ENTRANCE...

"Are you sure he's there, Commander Matson?" Saria spoke into her communicator. The group was hiding in a cluster of bushes outside the tower. Matson had done a full scan of the island and found Teran's watch signal at the top of the tower.

"Yes, I'm positive. But how will you get past the guards?" Matson replied. Two suit wearing thugs were watching the tower entrance, each with a gun holster at the waist.

"They're looking for me, not Ryan. Ryan can walk by and not be detected by the guards. He can get to Teran and we can haul them out," Saria planned.

"How are you gonna do that?"

"Can you make the Courage IX fly over the tower?"

"Sure. What do you want me to do?"

"When Ryan gets to Teran..."

MEANWHILE, AT THE TOWER'S ROOF...

"Hey Kaiba! How about we duel to pass the time?" Teran offered, "Keep your skills sharp for when you try to duel Saria." Kaiba gave him a questioning look.

"Why should I waste my time on you?" Kaiba asked. Teran smirked.

"What's wrong Kaiba? Afraid that I might beat you? Saria taught me you know and she once told me the perfect strategy to beat you. Come on, give me a chance to prove or disprove her theory!"

"Release him. We'll duel but I warn you, I will win!" Kaiba declared as he activated his black duel disk. Teran prepped his white watch.

"Watch yourself Kaiba! Does 4000 life points sound good?" Teran asked. Kaiba nodded.

"OK, then lets duel! I summon Crimson Sentry (1500/1000) in attack mode and place one card facedown to end my turn," Teran said, summoning his archer.

"OK, first I'll play Spell Sanctuary which lets us both look in our decks for any magic card we want and add them to our hands," Kaiba explained as he pulled his deck out to search for a card.

Strange, why play that card? I got a good card from that but I guess whatever he drew was worth the risk! Teran thought as he pulled out his card and replaced his deck.

"Now, I'll set one card facedown and summon Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode!" Kaiba began summoning a purple-armor clad monster holding a spear, "Now Kaiser Seahorse! Attack his sentry!" Teran smiled.

"Hold on! I activate Blast With Chain! This trap will increase the attack points of my warrior by 500 points, making it stronger than your Kaiser Seahorse!" Teran interrupted, revealing his facedown card.

"Oh yeah? I activate my Absorb Spell magic card from my hand! It'll absorb the effects of your trap card and add them to my Kaiser Seahorse instead!" Kaiba explained, a chain whip and dynamite wrapping protectively around his monster.

Nuts! This isn't going well. Teran thought as his monster was blown to bits and his life points dropped to 3400.

"How's that?" Kaiba smirked.

"Not bad, but my friend has seen that move before," Teran replied as he drew, "I'll place a monster in defense mode and place two cards facedown to end my turn."

"Fine, it's now my move!" Kaiba said as he drew his card, "Are you aware of my Kaiser Seahorse's special ability?" Teran shook his head.

"Well, if I send him to the graveyard, I can summon a Light attribute monster to the field. So watch as I sacrifice my Kaiser Seahorse in order to summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" Kaiba shouted. Teran watched fearfully as the sky turned dark. Kaiba's seahorse monster then vanished in a flash of blue lightning only to reshape itself into a large dragon that towered behind its master. The dragon's body was a sleek blue-white and it had two large shimmering wings and razor sharp claws. Teran stood in fear as the dragon's roar filled the air.

"That's right! Stand in fear of my almighty beast! Now Blue Eyes! Attack Teran's defense monster with white lightning!" Kaiba commanded. Teran braced himself as the dragon fired a large ball of blue lightning at his defense monster and destroyed it.

"So much for you monster. It never stood a chance as will any other monster you try to throw out onto the field," Kaiba sighed mockingly. Teran gritted his teeth in anger.

"Watch it! I'll find a way to beat your dragon!" Teran promised.

"Well, while you think, I'll throw one card facedown to end my turn," Kaiba replied.

How can I stop his Blue Eyes White Dragon? The only monster I have that remotely comes close to his dragon in attack power is Black Luster Soldier but knowing Kaiba's reputation as a duelist, he might have a way to destroy it. Teran contemplated as he drew from his deck. His eyes went wide at the card he had.

"Hey Kaiba! I just found a way to beat your dragon! I'll summon Disc Fighter (1000/1000) in defense mode and end my turn," Teran said, summoning a green discus bearing, blue armored warrior.

"Ha! That pathetic monster can't stand up to the destructive force of my Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba laughed. He then drew a card from his deck and grinned evilly.

"But before I destroy your fighter, I'll play the magic card, Card of Demise!" Kaiba said, activating his card. Teran watched as Kaiba drew five cards.

"Obviously, this card lets me draw five cards but in five turns my entire hand will be sent to the graveyard. But now, I'll summon the mighty Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode!" Kaiba explained, summoning his rapier-bearing beast.

"Now Vorse Raider! Attack Teran's Disc Fighter with beast slash attack!" Kaiba commanded. Teran however, was ready this time.

"Hold on! Activate trap card! Zero Gravity!" Teran interupted, revealing one of his facedown cards.

"Oh no! Not Zero Gravity!" Kaiba exclaimed. He watched as both of his monsters crouched down in defense mode and Teran's monster stood up in attack mode.

"Yeah, you probably already know that all monsters on the field switch their battle positions when this trap is activated so why should I explain it to ya?" Teran said nonchantly.

"Kid, you'll regret that move! Now, I'll place one card face down to end my turn," Kaiba said angrily.

Well, the stage is set for me to wipe out Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon but what of his three-facedown cards? Could he have expected this to happen and set a trap so I'd fail and lose my monster? Teran thought as he drew from his deck. Then he gasped at what he drew.

"Oh yeah! First, I'll summon Dragon Warrior (1400/1400) in attack mode!" Teran said, summoning a monster that wore what looked like a dragon's green carapace for armor. In its hand was a long curved, broadsword. Kaiba stared at it in shock.

"Now, I'll have Disc Fighter attack your Blue Eyes White Dragon with double discus toss!" Teran continued. Kaiba's hands shook in anger.

Disc Fighter's special ability allows it to destroy any defense monster with 2000 defense points or more. And if that wasn't enough, Teran won't take any battle damage! Kaiba thought angrily, as the discs hit the Blue Eyes White Dragon and it vanished in a fierce explosion, sending smoke all over the field.

"So much for the almighty Blue Eyes White Dragon! Now, I'll activate my Dragon Warrior's special ability. By sacrificing it, I can revive one dragon card that was send to the graveyard this turn, and so I'll summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon back on my side of the field!" Teran explained, his monster glowing a bright blue and reshaping itself into Kaiba's dragon.

"My Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"Yeah, except it ain't yours anymore! Now it's mine!" Teran said, pointing a thumb at himself proudly.

Meanwhile, at the base of Needle Rock Tower...

"Excuse me sir. I need to get by," Ryan greeted the guards. On his back was a backpack. The guards looked at one another then stepped aside.

"Thanks," Ryan said and he stepped by and entered the spacious tower. The room had spiral stairs going upwards, orange lights lighting the way. The floor was made of linoleum and people were studying the pictures of heroes on the walls. Ryan slipped over to the stairs and slung off his backpack. He reached inside and pulled out a two inch high Saria and Tristan!

"Whew! About time!" Tiny Saria shouted. Ryan tried to keep from laughing. She sounded like a chipmunk!

"Yeah, so can you put us down?" Tiny Tristan asked. Ryan nodded. He set them down and watched as Saria glowed a rainbow of colors.

"Chrono freeze!" Saria chanted, freezing everyone but herself and Ryan in time.

"OK sis. Go for it!" Ryan urged, occassionally glancing around. Saria nodded. Saria began to chant a spell and Ryan watched as she and the still frozen Tristan rose back to their normal size.

"Power down," Saria gasped, as the spell ended. Time resumed and Tristan snapped out of his trance in time to see Ryan catching a limp Saria.

"You OK Saria?" Tristan asked, kneeling near her.

"Yeah, it's just that using a unshrink spell in combination with a chrono freeze spell takes a ton out of me," Saria admitted. Ryan reached into a pouch on his belt and came out with a vial of a green liquid.

"Drink this," Ryan said. Saria nearly choked on the terrible taste of the potion but it quickly regenerated her magic power.

"Feel better?"
"Yeah, but from now on, I'll let my power regenerate by itself."

"Lets go before the guards notice us," Tristan said, his eyes on the two thugs standing with their backs to them. The three nervously began climbing the spiral staircase.

MEANWHILE, AT THE TOP OF NEEDLE ROCK TOWER...

"Alright! You've had your fun but this party's over for you! I reveal the magic card Shrink!" Kaiba declared angrily, revealing a facedown card, "This magic card lets me cut the attack points of a monster in half. I could choose my dragon, but today, I'll choose my Vorse Raider." Teran watched as the card's magic took effect and his monster shrunk in size and attack points.

"Why in the world would you shrink your own monster?" Teran asked.

"So I could play this! Reveal Crush card trap!" Kaiba replied springing his trap card.

Oh no! Teran panicked.

"This trap card only works on dark attribute monsters with attack points lower than 1500. My trap card will infect my Vorse Raider with a deadly virus that will spread to your hand, your field and then your deck. Every monster with more than 1500 attack points will be disease ridden and useless to you!" Kaiba explained, his monster turning an ugly shade of dark purple and crimson. Teran quickly reached for his duel disk.

"Vorse Raider! I sacrifice you to infect his deck! Destroy my stolen Blue Eyes White Dragon and put it back in my graveyard!" Kaiba commanded. Teran shielded himself as Vorse Raider exploded into a big thick cloud of purple particles. Teran watched as the particles spread all over his monsters, facedown card, hand and then his deck. Teran watched helplessly as the Blue Eyes was covered.

"Hey! Sorry to disappoint you but I have no intention of letting you destroy every card I have! Reveal magic card, Different Dimension Capsule! I can use this to protect one card from your virus!" Teran acted. He pulled his infected deck out and quickly shoved a card into the removed zone. It was then his Blue Eyes vanished in a puff of red smoke.

"Fine, but it doesn't matter now because you must now search your hand and deck for monsters with more than 1500 attack points and send them all to the card graveyard!" Kaiba said heatedly. Kaiba grinned as Teran put at least ten cards in the graveyard and inserted the remains of his deck back into his duel disk.

"Don't think this is over Kaiba!" Teran warned as Kaiba drew a card for his turn.

"It is for you!" Kaiba shot back, "I summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack mode!" Kaiba's new monster was a knight in blue armor. It held a green diamond-shaped shield and a red hilted sword.

"Blade Knight! Attack Teran's Disc Fighter!" Kaiba commanded. Teran watched as his warrior was gutted by the Blade Knight's sword and Teran's life points dropped to 3000.

"Well, now I'll set one card facedown to end my turn," Kaiba finished, his new card appearing on the field.

"OK, here goes!" Teran said, drawing a card.

"Hold on! I activate Virus Cannon!" Kaiba interupted, revealing his trap card.

"What is that?" Teran asked.

"Glad you asked. This cannon can wipe out ten magic cards in your deck instantly!" Kaiba grinned. Teran gasped.

"Virus Cannon! Wipe out ten magic cards in his deck, or at least whats left of it!" Kaiba commanded. Teran recoiled as the cannon zapped his deck and ten magic cards vanished.

"Ha ha ha! Now, your deck has no more magic cards!" Kaiba laughed as Teran reached for the remains of his hand.

"I'll place a monster in defense mode and one card facedown and end my turn," Teran said solemnly.

"That's right! Cower in despair at the power of my dueling deck! Now watch as I pick off that defense monster of yours!" Kaiba said, drawing a card, "I'll first play the magic card Cost Down! This magic card lets me reduce the level of a monster in my hand by two, making it easier to summon!" Teran gasped. He knew what was coming.

"Now, I'll sacrifice my Blade Knight in order to summon my second Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" Kaiba declared, another dragon appearing in the place of Kaiba's knight.

"Now Blue Eyes White Dragon! Attack Teran's facedown monster!" Kaiba commanded. Teran watched helplessly as his Throwstone Unit was destroyed.

"Ha! Now you have no monsters on the field! Next turn, I'll have two and I'll finish you off!" Kaiba laughed. Teran drew a card.

"Not if I can help it! Two turns have passed since I played Different Dimension Capsule so I get the card I hid in it," Teran said, opening the removed zone in his duel disk and pulling out the card.

"Now, I'll reveal my facedown Monster Reborn!" Teran added, revealing the second magic card, "Kaiba, your Virus Cannon may have destroyed the magic cards in my deck, and your Crush card may have picked off my better monsters, but both of your traps missed two critical cards. Now, like I was going to do. I'm going to resurrect your first Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba stood in anger as the first Blue Eyes White Dragon reappeared on Teran's side of the field.

"My dragon!" Kaiba shouted.

"Yeah, but to attack now would be stupid! I'm using it as a sacrifice for the magic card, Black Luster Ritual!" Teran said, flashing his magic card.

"What? But I destroyed all of your magic cards!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"Wrong! This one has been in my hand since the duel began so there's no way your cannon could take it out! Now, like I said, I'm sacrificing my Blue Eyes White Dragon in order to summon my Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500)!" Teran replied, the dragon vanishing only to reappear as Teran's ultimate soldier.

"But your soldier! I'm positive I destroyed that with my Crush card!"

"Not quite, I sealed the card inside of my Different Dimension Capsule, saving it from your virus." Kaiba clenched his fists in anger.

"It doesn't matter anyway! Your soldier and my dragon have equal attack points!"

"Not quite! When you activated your Crush card, you sent a special monster of mine to the card graveyard. That monster's special ability wasn't activated until now. It allowed me to raise the initial attack points of a warrior-type monster I have in my deck by 700 points for the remainer of the duel. All I have to do to activate it is to discard this last card to the card graveyard," Teran explained, discarding his card. The duelists then watched as a beam shot forth from Teran's graveyard and empowered the Black Luster Soldier, raising its attack power by 700 points.

"What card...?" Kaiba gasped.

"The card that has this power is a ten star monster that was given to me by a good friend. Until now, I haven't been able to use it, but it was worth the wait. So now, my Black Luster Soldier can destroy your dragon!" Teran replied, his soldier bracing itself for attack.

"This can't be!" Kaiba shouted. Neither duelist noticed that the sky was turning black and the area was darkening.

"It is! Black Luster Soldier! Attack Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon with chaos blade attack!" Teran commanded. Kaiba watched wordlessly as the Black Luster Soldier became a golden blur that cut through his dragon, beheading it. Kaiba watched as his dragon crumpled and his life points dropped to 3300.

"So much for your dragon!" Teran scoffed.

"Kid, you've gone too far. I didn't want to use this, but it looks like I've got no choice!" Kaiba swore as he drew from his deck, "I reveal my facedown card, Evil's Summoning Ritual!"

"Evil's Summoning Ritual!" Teran gasped.

"So, you've heard of it eh? Well, then I guess I don't have to tell you that by sacrificing my last Blue Eyes White Dragon and my La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, I can summon the most feared warrior of darkness in all of Duel Monsters!" Kaiba smirked. Teran then noticed that blue lightning began to light up the sky. Three such bolts landed infront of Kaiba and Teran watched as the bolts took on the forms of Kaiba's two monsters. The third figure was glowing a navy color and it floated just above Kaiba.

"Now my monsters! Transfer your life force to my warrior!" Kaiba commanded. The two monsters turned blue and green respectively and Teran watched as it combined with the navy energy, turning it a combination of crimson and black. The wind began to pick up as the monster took on its form.

"Teran!" A voice cried. Both duelists turned to see Saria, Ryan and Tristan standing at the doorway, unconscious guards at their feet.

"Saria!" Teran cried. He moved to run to them but bolts of lightning struck the ground around him and Kaiba, creating a circle of fire that trapped him in the duel. Teran recoiled at the fire.

"The fire is real!" Ryan gasped.

"Now, come forth Ganondorf, the King of Evil (4500/3500)!" Kaiba shouted over the wind. All four teens stood in fear as the red energy took on the form of a dark skinned male, wearing black armor, a crimson cape, black leather boots and a large sword at his hip. The monster had fiery red hair and eyes to match. His entire body glowed with dark crimson energy.

"Ganondorf, the King of Evil!" Tristan exclaimed.

"It's the last Triforce Destiny monster!" Ryan added.

"So Kaiba has the Evil's Summoning cards?" Saria wondered.

"Now Teran, prepare to lose it all!" Kaiba shouted, his warrior standing at his side. It was then Kaiba's voice lost its cold tone and changed into an unearthly tone. His body glowed with the same dark energy.

"Ganondorf, attack Teran and his Black Luster Soldier! Destroy them both with your Triforce sword of darkness!" the new Kaiba commanded. Everyone watched captivated as Ganondorf punched Black Luster Soldier aside and advanced at Teran. Teran stepped back nervously as the monster drew its sword. Teran reached for his duel disk and turned it back into its watch mode.

"Saria! Take these!" Teran shouted. Teran tossed the watch and Saria caught it.

"Teran! Get out of there!" Tristan commanded.

"I can't! This monster is no hologram! He's..." But Teran couldn't finish his sentence as Ganondorf slashed Teran in the chest. Teran's chest was on fire. He fell to one knee and wrapped his arms around his belly. Blood quickly seaped through the wound.

"He's real!" Ryan gasped.

"Teran!" Saria cried. She made to rush towards him but Ryan and Tristan grabbed her.

"Let me go! I have to help him!" Saria struggled.

"No way sis! It's too dangerous!" Ryan replied.

"He's right!" Teran shouted, "Run! Get away before he gets you too!" Saria stared at her hurt friend, whose attacker now had his sword raised for another blow.

"Please! Run! Forget me! Save your parents! Save the world! Stop Kaiba!" Teran pleaded. It was then Ganondorf slashed him in the left arm. Teran cried out in pain.

"Teran!" Saria cried.

"Go now! Meet your destiny!" Teran shouted, his other arm being slashed. It was then the sky grew darker. The three teens looked around and saw blue lightning bolts began to strike the island, causing great damage. It was then the Courage IX flew into view, Yugi, Joey and Serenity standing in the opening.

"Guys! Grab hold!" Joey shouted over the storm. He threw a rope ladder down to them. Tristan caught it.

"You first!" Tristan urged Saria. Saria turned away and saw Teran get punched in the face. He was knocked back to the edge of the tower. It was then it began to rain.

"Go Saria for all of our sakes! Stop Kaiba!" Teran shouted. Teran then stood up wearily and raised his fists.

"I'll stay and hold him off! Get yourselves away from here!" Teran declared.

"You sure?"

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life! Now go!" Teran said. Kaiba then stepped forward and punched him in the stomach. Teran crumpled. He looked to Ganondorf and then nodded his head towards the nearly unconscious Teran.

"Go!" Teran whispered. Saria then began to climb the ladder. She scaled it and Tristan and Ryan climbed the ladder too. Saria hugged Serenity and looked down in time to see Teran get gutted by Ganondorf as Kaiba laughed.

"Saria! Know this! No matter where you run, I'll still get you and your family! No one defeats me and thanks to Ganondorf, no one ever will!" It was then the hatch closed. Tristan then ran to the bridge and shouted. The ship lurched as it turned to leave the island.

HOURS LATER, NEAR THE SHORES OF WINDFALL ISLAND...

"How is she Ryan?" Serenity asked. Saria had gone straight to her room and gone to bed. Ryan had sat with her until Saria had cried herself to sleep.

"I'm not sure. She's so fed up with herself for letting this all happen," Ryan replied, sitting next to her.

"I can't believe that Kaiba killed Teran and in cold blood. If we're feeling bad, I hate think how Saria and Yugi must feel right now," Tristan added, turning to the young duelist. Yugi was standing at the controls next to Commander Matson, a semi-transparent Yami at their sides.

"So, Kaiba has the last Triforce Destiny Cards," Matson said.

"Yes and taking them from him will be no small feat. I could sense the magical power the cards possess," Yami replied, staring ahead in thought, "Those two cards were what destroyed Greatfish Island and summoned the monsters on Dragon Roost. They've been the cause of all the strange incidents that have occurred since we arrived here in the Great Sea Islands." Yugi nodded.

"I know but I wonder how Kaiba got them?" Yugi wondered.

"We'll find that out eventually, when we bring Kaiba in and confiscate those cards. But first, we've a friend to save. It turns out Mr. Floyd is on Windfall Island. Clayton Tsunami's rescue teams will meet us at Windfall."