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The Magic Board (cont'd)
Surfboards. Larry is extremely disappointed at having to go through the wild goose chase. But this time the surly receptionist lets him in immediately. Larry finds himself at a luau where he spots the president of Ocean Wave - who happens to be named Kimo Ta'aroa. Ta'aroa, upon looking at Duke in two pieces, apologizes and says that he doesn't do shortboards, only longboards. He tells Larry to go through the other energy portal back at the cave and to go see his brother Kawika Ta'aroa.
Larry hurries back to the other portal. Once through, he sees a figure in silhouette making wild gestures. It turns out to be Terry, his surf mentor, who is actually the Kahuna Ta'aroa. Terry tells him that Duke needs no repairing because the magic surfboard can fix himself. Duke quickly fixes himself, making Larry wonder what the whole adventure was all about. Terry reveals that it was Duke's plan to get Larry's arms back in shape while at the same time transforming him from an obnoxious brat to a person with some character.
The Guardians of the Grotto taught Larry about priorities. From the Red Karma Leeches he learned about paying dues and the Samoans gave Larry a lesson on tackling tasks one at a time, and so on and so forth.
But it is not finished. Larry is informed that in order to keep everything he had gained he would have to undergo a test. The test is to ride huge Makaha Point - a feat that only a few have ever done. Larry is not allowed to take Duke, but rather an ordinary board. Duke, with his magical powers, opens up a portal for them all to go to Makaha back to a day in 1969 when the waves were immense.
At Makaha, Larry barely makes it out to the gigantic waves. He is extremely intimidated by the gargantuan size of the swell and is close to panicking. But suddenly the terrors of the grotto show up - the malevolent guardians, the sharks and the Samoans.
Frightened out of his wits, Larry catches an enormous wave to escape his pursuers. He takes the drop and streaks across the wave. The wave starts to collapse on Larry. Suddenly Larry yells the word of power which gained him entrance to the portal in the cave. This time an energy portal opens up on the wave. Larry surfs through to another huge wave at another time and place. One after another he goes through time to surf the great waves from different eras. He ends up on a small wave at his home break in Manhattan Beach, California.
The whole crew with Terry and Sandy are there to greet him. He has passed the test with flying colors.
No longer needing a magic board, Larry leaves Duke on the beach. A skinny kid with a gimpy leg sits on the sand and wishes he was healthy enough to surf. He is totally shocked as the magic board winks and begins to talk.
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