Turbulent Waters

Ch-5

Turbulent Waters

Clouds shift as lights dimmer from the daylight, reflective of the moment that was of laziness. It's been hours since departure, and already Katty got bored. Walking back and forth on the deck while the others did something to occupy themselves. Finally, he approached over to Captain Steffbird, who was still, like a statue, at the very tip of the ship.

"Gazing at the distance?" He muttered.

The Captain didn't reply. Katty waits minutes for a response, but the Captain doesn't budge. Alistor was already napping while Maigashi was busy sharpening the tip of his weapon.

He turns his back for the moment away from the Captain, checking what Claws or Tannen were up to. At the door of Elena's chamber, he found Claws reading in a corner and decided not to bother him. He finds most of the others at the coffee table, so he grabs a chair by Tannen to join him. It was rather pleasant inside with someone playing at the piano.

"So, what is up?" Tannen wondered.

"Ugh! There is nothing to do, Tannen. I've been bored out of my mind just waiting to get some action."

"You should have brought something to occupy yourself with."

"Yeah, I know…."

Tannen then brought out a deck of playing cards from his pocket.

"Huh? A deck?"

Maigashi arrives at the table to join them for a simple game of cards. Tannen began distributing out the cards to the players. Katty finally has something to kill time away. They place their money on the table to begin play.

"Hmm…" Katty begins looking across the room.

"Something wrong?" Tannen asked.

"Where's Auroa? I haven't seen him much around since we got on board."

"Oh, him," Maigashi spoke. "He's down below the deck, crafting who knows what. He's confining himself for the moment, but who cares? Let's just play already.

Elsewhere on board, Sairori confronts Alistor. The two had their blades ready in the middle of a practice session.

"There's a technique I wish to show to you. Think you can master it?"

"I'm ready for anything!" Alistor said.

As everyone was occupied on board to pass the time, Taishae wastes no time preparing his next assault ordered from his superiors.

"So Tai, my man. You prepared our naval fleet?" Moon asked.

"Yes, they'll be ready in due time." He assured.

"How long?"

"In a matter of a week or so. Sorry if this delay deters you. Admiral Bombshell would have been perfect for this job. He would have had everything ready in less than a day."

The thought of the Admiral and Vilevelious came to this mind.

"Oh, don't worry. I can wait just fine. So those three monsters will still be ready as promised?"

"Yes, not to worry. The monsters are underway, being powered up for battle."

"Good! Oh, and you'll still do that thing with your illusion in the sky. No, wait, that's not it, oh wait, your face, yeah. The evil clouds with the lightning effects etc. You know what I mean."

"Of course….. No need to ask many times. I got it."

"Oh, never mind about that. Just remember to do it. Good day general."

Taishae dismisses himself from the communication screen. The secondhand creeps out from the shadows.

"Back this early already?" Moon wondered.

"Still going on about misleading Alistor and the rest with Taishae? What are you planning?"

Moon takes a moment to admire himself in the mirror.

"Vilevelious is nothing compared to me. The simplicity in his plans baffles me most of the time. My greatest power involves those who know little of my existence. In other words, having Taishae act in my stand will allow me to move as I freely, please. I can strike when one least expects it."

"I see…"

"Just wait. I'll get myself early in on the action. No one will see me coming. One look could just kill."

One week later…

"It is finally complete."

Auroa brushes up and gazes at his completed piece of craft. In the shadows, a small glimmer of light reflects off an object. He suddenly hears a knock at the door. Alistor and Katty were at the door waiting as he opened it for them.

"What have you been working on?" Katty wondered.

"Took me a while to put together, but just a little something to power up my old Wind Whip attack. Thanks to one of the gifts provided by Sairori." Auroa answered.

Auroa pulls out a small gauntlet attached with a gem. He pulls out his wind whip from one thread of his hair, lashing out with sharp metal thorns.

"Cool!" Alistor said back.

Claws come down in the room to check things out. A loud shake rocks and tips the side of their ship.

"Hey, a storm is coming our way. We need you guys up here."

They all hurry up to the deck to help push back the weight counterbalancing it. The sail slowly breaks as the tide's colors shift from a dark blue to a pitch black. Sairori, Katty, and Tannen rush to keep the sails intact from breaking off the ship.

"Where the heck is Zolhalla?" Alistor yelled.

"I think he's still asleep. Napping at this usual hour. You know, cause of the night shift." Claws replied.

"Damn, we won't have time to go back and wake him."

"This is no ordinary storm." Auroa sensed.

"You're right. Nature is not at hand." The Captain tilts his head down, covering his eyes, drenched in the rain. "Prepare for battle. The enemy is coming."

Steffbird draws his sword and makes a half spin jump across the boat.

"Skives get the ropes. Landlubbers hold da sails." Steffbird ordered.

Glamour troops emerge out from the darkness of the sea onto the deck. Claws skimmed across at the other ships already engaged in battle. Auroa and Maigashi went for the ropes while Alistor and Claws joined Steffbird in battle.

"En garde!"

Steffbird leads the charge, making the first strike by skewering a few of them off the ship. His light-fenced blade whipped around, splashing them back from each impact. One approaches close from behind, but he hits it back before others can warn him. He then detects another oncoming wave coming on the left side. A big wave impacts their ship from the side.

"Argh! Don't let them through. But, first, we must secure the sails."

Claws and Alistor take the oncoming enemies approaching from the left side. Holding the line till the rest can secure the main foundation of the ship. Maigashi and Auroa are tying the ropes around the sails to pull it back with the rest of Elena's team.

"Take this! And this! And This!" Claws went on repeating, pushing on the oncoming guards head-on.

Alistor does his best to keep any enemy from reaching the stairs to the upper deck. However, the pressure was on as more Glamour troops approach from the opposite side.

"You guys done yet? Any help would be convenient now." Alistor requested.

"Just hold on a minute." Maigashi bantered back as he tries to keep the focus on the rope. "It's not like you have to pull this load of weight back on you."

Tannen checks on the outnumbering situation and decides to jump in, leaving the weight of the sail to fall back and delay them a bit.

"Whoa! Where are you going, Tannen? Dammit! It's heavier." Maigashi yelled.

"No need to worry. I'll put in twice the amount of my power to balance off this weight." Sairori assured him.

He began powering up his body. Focusing his energy all in one place to hold the foundation.

"Keep it up. Keep hauling it."

While the weight of the sail regains balance, Tannen jumps down to reinforce them both. Then, pulling out his scythe, it transformed to twin-style katanas.

"You're using blades? That's a first." Alistor mentioned.

"Just watch and learn."

Cutting through the mass lines on the sides, the weight of both the katanas pushes a row of troops back. It leaves the enemies confused and open for Alistor and Claws to take them down quickly. Thus, the tide of battle slowly shifts back in their favor.

"Almost there! Just one more push." Maigashi said.

The sail was finally repaired and back intact, but the situation soon got tense. Katty freaks out.

"My goodness, did you just see that ship sink?"

"Look at that one over there. It's completely frozen." Claws pointed.

Suddenly, tentacle-like legs start wrapping on their ship. Steffbird stabs at it but gets knocked back.

"Argh! They are trying to bring us down."

"What now?" Alistor wondered.

"This storm, it must be put to an end. So all of ye stay back. I'm gonna put an end to this accursed storm."

"How will you do that?" He continued to wonder.

"Just wait and see. Ay hava few tricks and ace up my sleeves. We ain't through just yet." The Captain assured them. "Lemme have some time to focus some power."

Another big wave violently impacts their ship, but they all stand on their grounds. Elena's crew went to support, taking the remaining enemies on board. At the same time, the party delays the tentacles from completely wrapping across the ship.

"Got ya!" Claws got all excited hacking and stabbing away at the intact tentacles suctioned on the ship.

A tentacle swoops in to attack Claws from behind.

"Watch your back there." Zolhalla destroys it in one electrifying slash.

"Hey, you're finally awake."

"Think I wouldn't bother missing all the action? Oi mates, let's go neat some squiddies!"

Alistor and the team fight away, hacking and slashing away at every leg coming from beneath the sea.

"Alright, the time is right. Here comes da big one." The Captain said dramatically.

Steffbird gathers a mass force of power from the sea. A massive object takes form in the shape of something they all couldn't make out at first. It was something big they had never seen amassed from above. The artificial object took the form of a whale eclipsing over the battle zone. Alistor was speechless.

"A whale? You got to be kidding." Maigashi dropped.

"Oh snap," Tannen said.

Steffbird immediately hurls the whole whale at the heart of the battle, hitting the eye of the storm. For a brief moment, they see Taishae's metal face through the illusion of clouds fading away. But, instead, the whale went high up, disappearing.

"Where did it go?" Alistor wondered.

Eventually….

"There she blows! Take cover!" Steffbird yelled.

The whale suddenly comes crashing down at lightning speed in the ocean's pitch heart, devastating the battlefield. All the ships nearly flip back from the resulting force of a tsunami.

"We just lost almost half our fleet!" Claws cried.

Their ship got back to balance as three sparks of light emitted from the ocean in anger. The sound of three monsters roaring. One of the lights beneath their ship with tentacles moves to the other side, joining the others. Three geysers gush out from the sea, revealing three monsters.

"One of them is enormous?" Zolhalla dropped.

Steffbird keeps his stand, peering at the three with his sharp eyes. No sign of fear or stepping back. Taishae's face materializes above from the sky once again. Lightning struck down on the three creatures powering them up.

"Hahaha... We meet again at sea. You may have stopped my storm, but they'll be more than ready to destroy you." The metal general announced. "I present to you Starvous! Oystronimus! And Darrum! Now go! Destroy them!"

Lightning flashes violently as Taishae made his leave. The three sea monsters start moving in. Darrum being the largest, slowly advanced from the center. Oystronimus fires a beam of ice, creating a path to the ship. Starvous and Oystronimus moved through the ice arriving onboard first with little time for the rest to react.

"So we got a Starfish-based creature, an Oyster that freezes things, and that scoundrel that tried bringing my ship down with its tentacles." The Captain informed.

"For something with tentacles, it looks more like a sand star than a squid," Alistor added.

"I see what ya mean. A big fellow, ain't he? Just be glad that oversized calamari can't walk on ice. Claws! Come with me; we'll bag the big one and keep it busy as long can do. Take care of the others." Steffbird orders.

Alistor was ready. Zolhalla and Tannen join at his side. Maigashi and Auroa take the back row for distance combat while Katty and Sairori lie on the floor exhausted.

"It seems all that weight from the sail made work of their backs. They won't be able to battle." Tannen updated.

Steffbird and Claws leap from the ship, dashing through the ice to take on the massive creature. The front row charge at the two monsters on board. Alistor clashes with Starvous while Tannen and Zolhalla have a go at the Oyster creature. They quickly land a double strike delivering an electrifying pulse that had little effect on it.

"What?" Tannen questioned.

"That's one strong armor; it barely flinched," Zolhalla said.

Oystronimus hurls them both back with one turn around. Beams of ice fire away at them.

"Watch out!" Tannen pushes Zolhalla away from a direct hit.

They both barely avoid its attack as the floors became slippery. Next, Alistor attempts a Star Breaker attack at Starvous but is knocked back. The three then fire their ranged attacks at the Oyster monster, focusing on a single target while Auroa and Maigashi distract the other one.

"The one that freezes stuff so far seems to be the most dangerous," Zolhalla informed.

"Let's gang up on that one then," Alistor said.

Ignoring the starfish, they all charged at Oystronimus. Starvous tried following but Auroa and Maigashi jump in its path, intervening it. Starvous shoots multiple spikes at them to take cover.

"This one shoots plenty of projectiles," Maigashi mentioned.

"It's a distanced ranged fighter like us." Auroa agreed.

The two retaliate back with their ranged attacks, leveling the playing field. Their attacks collide with its shots, leaving the planks with spikes scattered.

Returning with Steffbird and Claws, their attacks land successfully from the use of teamwork. Picking off one of its arms after the next, the giant sand star seemed to be taking damage.

"You shouldn't have been so naughty! Have a whale at it!!!"

Steffbird tosses his whale over at the monster's face, slamming it hard.

"We did it!" Claws jumped.

The giant sand star then evaporated into thick air, leaving them both caught within a layer of gas, unable for the others to see from a distance.

"What in bloody namea jones is this?" The Captain wondered.

"I see it?" Claws strike at its shadow. "No, wait over here."

He strikes at it again, missing—the shadow from the creature duplicate around them. Lost and confused, their minds begin playing tricks on them. Each movement the creature made was like an optical illusion. Claws feel dizzy looking at them.

"We've fallen into its trap. We're within its own realm." The Captain quietly spoke.

In a sticky wicket of a situation, they proceed with caution—waves of sound from the creature impact both of them.

"Duck and roll!" Claws said.

More waves of attacks continue striking down at them. They roll across till they're able to find cover.

Back on the ship, the three give all they have at Oystronimus, dealing the best form of damage they could. Auroa's airwaves bounced all of the monster's projectiles while Maigashi piles on the damage with a bolting shot from his arrow.

"We got it on the run. Let's finish it!" Maigashi said.

They both get close, striking it with wind and lightning from their weapons. Oystronimus suffered a form of paralysis, bound by the other three's attack. The two monsters suddenly begin reacting, looking towards each other. A scheme was coming up.

"What? Something's not right." Auroa felt.

Starvous began liquefying itself, soaking up the whole deck. Water flows on deck, filling the field. Then, Oystronimus began self-freezing its body to solid ice.

"This isn't good. Fall back!!!" Auroa hollered.

With Maigashi only able to hear his call, Alistor and the others couldn't make it. Auroa leaped back to the higher grounds of the ship with Maigashi, making it across the stairs in time. Alistor and the rest pulled their weapons off from the frozen Oyster trying to make a run. Unfortunately, their legs soon caught on ice, rendering them immobile.

"What?" Alistor muttered.

Frozen at knee height, they attempt breaking away the ice with their weapons. Both monsters came back out nearly unharmed.

"We're frozen. We must break free." Tannen said.

Oystronimus fires away its ice, rendering their arms frozen in place. Alistor looks back, unable to find Auroa or Maigashi in view. Feelings of distress and fear.

"Is….this really it?"

"Alistor! Stay with us!" Zolhalla yelled.

Alistor begins losing consciousness while Tannen and Zolhalla struggle to break free from the layers of ice. As Alistor closed his eyes, life was flashing before his very eyes. A vision suddenly comes to him in a matter of seconds.

"What…Where am I?"

He finds himself in an aquatic realm—shades of blue and sea green light all around. A glistening silver light approaches him. Taking the form of a feminine silhouette, it reaches its hand out for him.

"Who are you?"

She placed her hand upon his heart. He begins to hear her voice inside his head.

"Come find me…." Her voice echoed.

She begins to pull away from him.

"Wait! What do you mean?"

He tries chasing after her, but she only moves away faster till only a mere light fades into the distance. A dark presence awaited him at the very end. Unknown of who or what it was, Alistor has never seen such a thing as it. The silhouette of Moon taunts at him as he resists falling within its fear. He then felt a smacking whack at his head. Alistor finally wakes up.

"Huh?"

"Good, you're awake finally. Don't go dying on us." Maigashi sarcastically said.

"What happened?"

Maigashi and Auroa were at their side, covering them. The three were still frozen and unable to move their limbs.

"They've been battling them off the whole time while you were passed out." Zolhalla updated him.

"How long was I…passed out?"

"Oh, only like ten minutes. We've been holding them off just fine." Auroa said.

Auroa had his new wind whip ready at the monsters.

"So, how is your new weapon?" Alistor asked.

"So far, not too bad. I can still move around efficiently. It's fairly stronger than my last weapon. It can also create wind barriers to defend us. So it works with my style of play."

Oystronimus reaches for an attack from behind, but he dodges it. Starvous fires its spike cannons at Auroa directly. His whip easily deflects it back. Maigashi lands a sharp blow through the Oyster monster's ice cannon.

"Come on, let's stop fooling around and end this already."

"Fine then…" Auroa agreed.

The two move in at both the monsters with their special attacks. Auroa lashes his whip at Oystronimus as Maigashi punctures through Starvous' core, avoiding its fire pattern. Sparks burst from both monsters. Oystronimus then unexpectedly pulls out its damaged ice cannon to fire.

"What, but I disabled it?" Maigashi mentioned.

A last round of ice is fired when the cannon falls apart from the monster's arm. Ice pillars form across the whole deck, and Auroa gets directly hit from behind.

"Damn...It got me… But I can move. Such weight…"

Being partly frozen, Auroa bore the weight of ice on his back. He destroys the last of Oystronimus shell armor with his whip.

"Let's finish them off." Maigashi charged.

Maigashi and Auroa knock both weakened monsters off the board with a combined wind and lightning strike. Both creatures burn with sparks flying as they explode within the open sea.

"Our part is done for now…Wonder how Steffbird and Claws are faring." Auroa glanced at the open fog of smoke.

Back with the battle against Darrum, Steffbird and Claws make their move. Water begins flooding within the realm.

"Yar har a self-drowning plan should do the trick." The Captain smirked with confidence.

"Are you trying to get us killed again?" Claws shouted back.

Claws thought it was just weird but went with it. Steffbird then breaks the floor, allowing water to fill within. The illusion designed by Darrum vanishes as a loud choking sound roars violently within. Darrum spits them both out back on the ice path. The giant monster became nauseated.

"Just as I suspected. We were within the mother lode of its belly this whole time." Said the Captain. "This thing was even responsible for the storm. Now go and finish this oversized starfish but don't forget to give credit."

"Right…" Claws nodded.

Claws leap in the air, shouting a loud battle cry with his super attack. A cat silhouette formed behind the aura surging around his blade. He strikes at the core of the monster's mouth. Darrum was unstable, losing balance as it falls to pieces on the open sea, exploding. Parts of the creatures are all that remain afloat.

"Now to get back to them."

"Right." Claws followed away.

Steffbird and Claws jump back on board, Auroa and Maigashi finish chipping the ice off their teammates. Freed from the ice, Alistor was finally relieved but now cold for a warm blanket. Wondering what was next, they seek Steffbird for the call.

"Argh! This battle may be over, but the sea is still tainted with negative energy."

"You're right…." Alistor agreed. "The storm cleared, the monsters are beaten, but something is still watching us."

"Maybe it's the parts from the monster remains." Katty pointed.

"You think so? Har har har, maybe it wouldn't hurt to salvage some of the parts." The Captain thought. "Can auction them for a hefty price? Or trade for treasures!"

Minutes later, Claws went on to deliver the status report from their battle. Nearly half of their starting fleet sank, while the other 50% of the ships were mainly damaged.

"That leaves us with less than 10,000 units. Most of our army is injured. A good part of our fleet will have to fall back."

"We lost that many already?" Alistor dropped.

It was deterring for a moment, but the remaining half of the fleet continued. The party and crew aboard the ship then cleared away the ice on board and began salvaging the monster parts.

"Maybe this could help give us more knowledge on the enemy." Katty thought.

Steffbird suddenly halts the crew from taking further action.

"Halt! Something's coming. Fall back!"

A massive whirlpool is forming at the distance of the battle site. Pitch dark and purple sea gush from one big wave to the next. Then, fearing for the worst, it begins pulling them in slowly. Everyone nearly panicked, running back in forth pointlessly.

"Whoa, Nelly, you won't." The Captain yelled back.

The Captain makes his stand dealing with it. Forcing out another whale to his call, obviously, he threw the massive mammal into the hole of the vortex.

"What the hell?"

A bonking sound is heard within the whirlpool, an utter complaint followed to their surprise. Then, octopus-like legs in the masses emerge from the vortex. None other than Moon making a grand entrance for the first time, unknown to them in person.

"Is this another monster?" Katty wondered.

"This one looks nasty." Claws pointed.

Moon's body finally emerges just enough for them to see him clear in the open. Pushing the whale aside, he gave a creepy smile.

"That's not cool. A whale? Who throws whales?" Moon spoke out to them.

"And who may you be?" Claws politely asked.

A feeling stomached inside of Alistor. The feeling he gets if they had met somewhere before, thinking back from the vision with the maiden.

"Hoo, this is gonna be fun." Moon thought to himself.

Lifting the whale aside, he started thinking to himself for a brief moment before an official response.

"Who is Mwah, you ask? Something that's more than meets the eye. I'm the thing that watches in the still of the night. So for now, you can call me by Seneca."

"You know I'm just here to clean up this mess you made. So all those monster parts are a no-no for you."

He begins pulling in all the remains from the three monsters in one big twirling flush from the whirlpool as Alistor and the party attempt to take action.

"You know…Getting hit by a whale hurts. Not cool!" Seneca spoke with a different tone. "Here! You can have it back."

Seneca hurls the big fish back at the fleet of ships. It swoops over Alistor leaving everyone speechless.

"Abandon ship," Maigashi yelled.

Steffbird attempts to make a catch but misses by a long shot. The whale inaccurately plows behind the whole fleet—the force impacts, crashing the waters violently in one big wave flipping some ships once again. Seneca then makes his leave turning away.

"Hmm, that was a bit too much force. Cheer we go, for now, I must return hoo hoo. Later….."

"Now we have less than 5000 units!" Claws cried.

He disappears immediately within the waves.

Hours later…

"Land ho! We have arrived." Steffbird hollered away.

Elena comes out of her room to check the view, winds blowing her hair from the cool, soothing breeze. Her veil flew off into the open sea while the others could just only stare at the setting view.

"So this is Anneria." Alistor stared into the distant sunset.

They have finally arrived at the region of Anneria. The silver maiden's voice was on his mind. Picturing her from a distance.