===Disclaimer: The Ben 10 series which this sequel to the prequel (though not the actual sequel I had mentioned at the end of the prequel, to which this may be partially a prequel of, in a way) is based on does not belong to me.===
Acanthii's Return
A loud bang echoed throughout the lake. Acanthii stood at the bottom next to a large metallic object and dropped the heavy stone he had just been using, letting it sink to the muddy lake floor. He then reached down and picked up a canister from near his foot and turned a switch on it. Holding the end of the nozzle to an opening in the object, he pushed a button and the canister released a glowing plasma that melded the metal together. Once the hot metal cooled off, he leaned in and inspected it.
"Good," he said to himself with satisfaction. "It's finally finished." He turned his head up to check the sun's position through the water. As he was looking, he spotted a small ship flying over the lake. "Right on time," he said, before swimming toward the surface.
The ship had landed on the edge of the lake. An opening formed in the side and widened, allowing a brown, hunched, fish-like alien to step through. Taking a quick look around, the alien reached back into his ship and pulled out a breathing apparatus filled with water. Strapping it around his neck over top his gills, the alien then began unloading more of varying shapes and sizes. Acanthii reached the shore next to the vehicle and walked out of the water, wearing his own backpack-shaped breathing device.
"Ceanus. Hello," he greeted the shorter creature.
"Acanthiisonith Ceradaetinae. Been a while since I last saw you."
"Yes, well, you can thank those poachers for that," Acanthii said with disdain.
"Disgusting beings," Ceanus spat. "So you got that vessel of yours ready for space travel? Reprogrammed that monster machine?"
"Yes, thanks to your instructions, it should work once the power source is in," he explained. "You do have it, don't you?"
"Of course." Turning around, Ceanus crawled back into the ship. He dug around for a moment before reemerging with a large, glowing sphere. "When have I ever been unable to get something?"
"Excellent. And I see you brought enough of the packs," he said, nodding at the pile of breathing apparatuses.
"Yes..." Ceanus stared at Acanthii with a stern look. "Are you certain you wish to go through with this? It will be very risky. I am returning to our world, and you are more than welcome to come with me."
"I appreciate the offer, my friend, but I have made my decision." Ceanus nodded respectfully.
"As you wish. I've heard tell they're stationed near Arkneon, trying to sell off those captured as slaves and pets."
"They will not be allowed to get away with that," Acanthii growled, clenching his fist.
"Fortunately, it sounds as if they're not doing too well. I wish you luck in your venture. Just be careful. I expect to see you back on Piscciss."
"Do not worry," Acanthii said with a confident pat on the smaller alien's shoulder, "I promise you this will not be the last time you see me." With that, Ceanus bid the warrior farewell and returned to his ship. Once he had taken off, Acanthii picked up the power source and stepped back into the lake with it. With the sun setting, he had to install it in time to get enough rest for the big trip.
"Okay, then," Acanthii said to himself as he sat at the controls of the ship the next morning. He was nervous – unsure if the ship would fly and stay together. But there was no time to hesitate; every moment wasted was another moment someone could be sold into slavery.
Acanthii started up the engines and the makeshift ship rose from the lakebed. Moving up through the water, everything was holding together fine. Once the vehicle breached the surface, he ignited the booster rocket and the ship shot quickly into the sky. It only took a few seconds for Acanthii to escape Earth's atmosphere. The ship stopped and turned in the direction of Arkneon, then set off at high speed.
Satisfied with the launch, Acanthii set the escape pod's autopilot feature to fly to his destination. Meanwhile, he took the spare time to plot out a plan of action for once he was aboard the poachers' ship. It wouldn't be easy to make it past the numerous enemies he would be sure to encounter, while at the same time carrying enough water for all the prisoners to breath. He had plenty of time to think on this, though.
More than 30 hours later, Arkneon was detected nearby. Acanthii sat back at the controls and shut down the auto pilot. He used the enhanced sensor of the monster machine to scan for the ship he was searching for. Instead, though, it picked up the signal of a smaller vessel, leaving from the direction the planet. Suspicious, Acanthii piloted his ship toward the other craft. Once he was within a good enough range, he turned on the communications system to contact the other vehicle. Rather than say anything, he made a few low growling noises into the transmitter.
"Gruinhs norrggos hathenmk ana ckaraatk?" came a confused response from the other end. As he had assumed, the other person did not speak his language. But there was another sound in the back that Acanthii was interested in. He repeated the noises once more, eliciting the same response in a more annoyed tone. This time, however, Acanthii could also hear angry, muffled shouting in the background, speaking words he could understand.
His suspicions all but confirmed, Acanthii maneuvered the ship even closer to the other vessel. One of the tentacles from the recovery machine reached out and wrapped itself around the other ship, holding it in place. The rest of the machine was then positioned on the top of the ship. A large metal beak on the underside then pierced through the roof. Acanthii crawled from the controls down into the interior of the machine, and he swam down to the beak. Slipping right inside of the beak, a door closed over top of him to seal in the water as the beak opened. Acanthii dropped into the ship, facing the panicked pilot.
"Errghoh! Naminazp cglorawt!" he yelled at the intruder. Acanthii ignored him and turned his head to see someone held in a water-filled tank. This alien had a tough, dark-red exoskeleton around his body and large pincers on the ends of his arms – a Nephrops.
"Release him," Acanthii calmly ordered the pilot, pointing at the tank so he would be understood. The pilot did not comply, and instead began to get up. He started to reach for a weapon beside him when a clawed hand appeared in front of his face. Another was placed on top of his head as Acanthii leaned in opened his jaws wide. The pilot froze in fear, and Acanthii turned his head to face the tank again. He pointed at it once more, and this time the pilot did as he was instructed. Slowly moving his hand back to the controls, he pressed a button and the tank opened. Water spilled out as the Nephrops stepped free of the container.
"Let him go," he said to Acanthii gruffly. "I wish to tear his limbs from his torso."
"No," Acanthii responded. "There are more important matters to attend to." The Nephrops glared at him with contempt. "Climb up into my vehicle. We must leave." After a few more seconds staring at each other, the Nephrops growled and leapt up into the open beak. Acanthii let the pilot go and also climbed up into his ship. The beak closed and withdrew from the roof, two tentacles quickly coming in and pulling the metal back into a tight seal. The ship then flew away from the other vessel.
"A Volann, hm?" The Nephrops sat behind Acanthii as the latter controlled the ship. "You know our kind do not get along. Why did you free me?"
"You were captured and sold into slavery. You should be grateful, regardless of your savior."
"Don't be mistaken – I do appreciate it." He raised an open pincer to the back of Acanthii's head. "But at the same time, I could also choose to tear into you right now and take this ship back home by myself." Acanthii remained calm, despite the threat.
"If you wish to kill me, then wait until we are back on our homeworld, where we can have a proper battle." He turned in his seat and made eye contact with the Nephrops. "But right now I must free the others who were captured."
"Ha! Why bother? There were no other Volanns on there besides you. ...That was you who escaped, right? The one who fled and left the rest of us to our fate?"
"Yes, that was me."
"Then why come back? You got out. You were free. Ours is a world where 'survival of the fittest' is the number one rule. No others of your kind and none seemed a close friend of yours, so why not just forget about the rest of us?"
"That was my intention originally," Acanthii admitted. "But I received help from someone when I needed it; we were not even from the same planet, yet she still went out of her way to assist me. How, then, could I refuse to help those that actually are of my homeworld?"
Both aliens sat in silence as the ship continued toward Arkneon.
"Those poachers are holding position near the moon on the other side of this planet," the Nephrops spoke up. "I'll tell you that much, but I won't get involved in this any further. I still say we're better off ditching everyone else, but I'm not going to try and persuade you from bringing more potential opponents and food sources back to our oceans."
"Regardless of your intentions, I appreciate your cooperation. Thank you..." Acanthii paused for a moment, awaiting a name.
"Lostenzikk," the other answered.
"Acanthiisonith. Now to get to work."
Shortly, the poachers' large ship came into view. Acanthii steered toward the section that the escape pod he took had launched from. The tentacles moved to pry open the sealed portal. Once it was open, the pod part of the ship was inserted back into the place it once rested. Acanthii opened the escape pod's door, now facing upward, and grabbed five of the water-filled breathing apparatuses.
"Once I'm in, take the ship out and get somewhere safe. We don't want them to find it in case we need to retreat."
"Okay," Lostenzikk acknowledged. "But you had better make it back out in one piece; I still intend to fight you – do not deprive me of that." Acanthii placed a water pack onto his back with the end over his gills, then climbed out of the pod. He stepped through the next door, closing it behind him. As he heard the sound of the ship pulling out behind him, he started to move on.
Stepping quietly, Acanthii made his way toward the back of the ship, where the tanks would be. At every branch in the path, he carefully peered around the corner. So far, he had seen no sign of anyone guarding their prisoners. Perhaps they were waiting in ambush, or up in the control room doing other tasks. They could even be resting. Regardless, Acanthii kept his senses sharp.
As he came to another split from the hallway, some voices could be heard nearby, but he was unable to tell what they were saying in their foreign language. He waited silently as the two voices carried on with their conversation. Once they had stopped, the sound of footsteps took their place. Acanthii could tell one of them was coming his way. He backed up to the wall, ready to attack. When the alien turned the corner, Acanthii quickly grabbed his arms and threw him to the ground. A swift blow to the back of the being's head knocked him unconscious. Acanthii searched the guard and found a metallic shard attached to his belt. Snapping the string, he took the object and left to continue on.
It wasn't long before he came to a fork in the path. Two signs on the wall informed the crew what was in either direction, but Acanthii couldn't read them. He calmly closed his eyes and focused his hearing. A faint clicking noise could be detected down the left hallway. He remembered this same clicking being constantly emitted by one of the captives, and he immediately set off in that direction. A few more turns led him to a large, heavy door. Seeing a slot in the door, Acanthii held the shard he took up to it. It easily slid into the slot and the door started to open.
With the door open, Acanthii could see the various small tanks full of aquatic beings. Everyone began to become active; excited at the sight of someone who wasn't supposed to be there. Many of them cried out for Acanthii to set them free, and others pointed him toward the control panel for the tanks. Acanthii stepped into the room, looking around cautiously. A sensation tingled the top of his shoulders and head, and he leapt forward. A guard, larger than the previous one, dropped from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. Acanthii turned and prepared to fight the hulking beast.
"Well, well," the guard spoke in a deep and unstable voice, "appears like big fish that got away went back. Will you want for me to put you back in liquid pot?"
"Your translator seems to be rather outdated," Acanthii remarked. "I know what you are trying to say, and I'm going to have to decline your offer."
"Hah. Okay with me." The guard raised a giant hammer and swung it at Acanthii. He dodged, letting the weapon slam into the wall. It was a slow attack, but the size of the dent it left was a testament to his strength.
"Impressive," Acanthii said. He dropped the breathing devices he had been carrying, and lunged at the guard. He slashed a clawed hand across each of his opponent's knees. The large alien bellowed in pain and tried to kick Acanthii away. He jumped back to his previous position, only to be smashed in the side with the hammer. Crashing into the wall across the room, Acanthii was stunned by how fast that attack was.
"Don't believe you are speedier than me. It will only have you dead earlier." The titan lifted his hammer and ran at Acanthii, his feet pounding the floor with each step. Acanthii pushed himself up and faced his foe again. Once more, the hammer swung down at him. It hit him in the chest, causing him to cry out. The guard chuckled at Acanthii's pain.
But Acanthii wasn't going to lose like this. Tightly gripping the edges of the hammer head, he held on as it finished its swing. When it stopped moving, he pulled himself up along the handle. He opened his jaws wide and then forcefully bit down on the guard's hand. Blood gushed from the wounds as the big alien screamed. Acanthii let go of the hammer and sank his claws into the giant's forearm. He dropped his weapon and flailed his arm wildly to shake the Volann off, but Acanthii's sharp teeth held firmly in his flesh. The amount of blood lost as he thrashed about was starting to make him feel woozy, and he soon fell over with a loud crash and passed out.
The captive aliens cheered as Acanthii tore his jaw from his enemy. He walked over to the tanks and looked at everyone inside them.
"I have only four packs of water with me at the moment. Which four of you would be the best fighters?" The strongest warriors argued amongst themselves, each trying to get out before the others. "All right! You, you, you..." He pointed to three who looked like they could fight well: a creature with a head resembling a shark, one with sharp spines along her back and arms, and one with suction-cupped tentacles sprouting from his arms. Then he came to a smaller creature, one with a serpentine shape. "...and you. You will come with me." The others began to object to his decision. "Settle down! I should have enough devices for all of you later. But right now we must defeat those who imprisoned us and take control of this vessel."
Acanthii used the control panel to release those chosen to help him. He handed each of them a pack filled with water. They each put them on in the manner most comfortable for them and prepared to follow Acanthii's lead. Once everybody was ready, he opened the heavy door and ran through, the others following closely behind.
It was starting off to be an easy trip. The halls were just as empty as before. But Acanthii knew that an alarm had to have been sounded. The rest of them would be waiting at the front of the vessel, readying themselves for their intruder. The entire rescue could be blown by running to meet them, but there was no other course of action available; his own vehicle being too small to transport every being.
The small group continued down the halls unimpeded; the possibility of an ambush becoming more and more likely. It was only a few more minutes before they came to the end of the last hallway. The door in front of them was smaller than that of the prison's, but it was apparent that it was equally thick.
Acanthii raised his hand to inform the others to get ready. Everyone got into their battle stances, preparing to strike. Acanthii reached to the panel next to the door and pressed the button. When nothing happened, two of the others groaned in frustration. Acanthii silently beckoned to the little, serpentine alien. He moved forward and stretched up to touch the panel. His body glowed as he emitted electrical pulses from within his body. The panel sparked and a hollow clank came from the door.
The door slid open, and the aquatic warriors charged through. As expected, there were many guards lying in wait. They did not appear to be anticipating more than one enemy, though, and Acanthii's group took advantage of their surprise. The shark-headed alien bashed his strong arms into a few guards, knocking others aside with his head. The small one maneuvered with great speed among the guards, giving any he made contact with a potent jolt. The tentacled one wrapped his extra limbs around his enemies', then tossed them around the room. And the last warrior made excellent use of her sharp spines, stabbing them into her opponents with no mercy.
However, as Acanthii knocked his eighth guard unconscious, the clicking of firearms caused him to stop. Glancing around, he could see that the remaining poachers had all drawn weapons and were surrounding the five of them. Everyone backed into the center of the room, none taking their eyes off the enemy. Acanthii glared at the taller one, the leader of the poachers.
"A nice try at winning against us," he said to the smaller group, his longer bottom teeth showing as he grinned. "You are outbeaten, though. You might be well at close combat, but I would enjoy to watch you try against us when we can fire at you." Several of the men on either side of the captain stepped forward, still prepared to fire if necessary. Others at the door stepped aside, clearing a path. Acanthii and his allies were forced to step back, out of the room. Once they had passed the door, another slammed shut behind them.
"You did good to get in and let out our catches," the captain began again. He placed his hand on a switch at the controls. "But now I am going to have to let you out now." With a movement of his hand, the door sealed shut inches from Acanthii's face.
"Now what?" the shark alien asked, anger evident in his voice. Acanthii looked around the tight space. When he looked up, he immediately dug his claws into the wall.
"Hold on tight!" They all anchored themselves to the wall just as a hatch on the ceiling opened. The air was instantaneously pulled from the room as they were exposed to the vacuum of space. The smaller alien was nearly sucked out too, but he was able to wrap himself around the spiny alien's waist in time. Acanthii knew he had to act fast. He pulled one hand free and tapped a device on his other wrist. It wasn't long before he was able to see exactly what he was hoping to.
"You suppose those guys have been finished?"
"Yes," the captain told the guard, "they should be killed. Even if they did manage to stay in this ship, they have to be killed by now. Put the hole shut and open the doors again."
"Um, sir? The hole can't be shut. A thing is blocking it."
Before the captain could respond, the heavy door to the room burst from its track and slammed onto the floor. A great torrent of water rushed into the room, flooding the floor and rising higher quickly. All the poachers were knocked down by the rushing water. Acanthii leapt forth and pinned the captain to the controls. Some of the guards were able to grab their guns again, but Lostenzikk's pincer smacked them all out of their hands.
"Surrender now and we may decide not to kill you," Acanthii told the captain, crushing his gun in his claws as he did so. The captain fearfully stared at the warriors with wide eyes.
"I give up! Just do not injure me!"
"Oof!" The last of the guards was thrown up through the metal beak blocking the hatch and into Acanthii's makeshift spacecraft. The second door had been opened, allowing the water to clear the room. The other four aliens had taken the supply of breathing apparatuses back to the other captives.
"Move!" Lostenzikk shoved the poacher captain toward the beak. He growled at the Nephrops, but another sharp shove caused him to fall to the floor. Acanthii picked the captain up by the ropes that held his arms down, and tossed him into his ship with the rest of the poachers. He then grabbed the sides of the beak and forced it shut.
"Thank you for your help," he said to Lostenzikk. The red alien grunted in response.
"It was getting boring up there doing nothing. Also, we still haven't gotten to fight yet."
"Yes. Well, we can set a course for our planet now. Then we can have that battle in the proper environment."
"Fine by me. Get this thing moving."
Acanthii sat at the controls and entered in the coordinates for his homeworld. Finally, he could go home. And he really did feel much better knowing that he had helped the others who had been captured as well. The ship started to move, turning to follow its programmed path. Acanthii stood up and stared through the front window at the stars.
"Next destination: Piscciss."
A/N: Sorry if this may have come out a little poorly. I haven't been writing much over the summer, unfortunately. But hopefully this is good enough to help pass the time until I can start on the actual sequel story. Reviews, suggestions, and possibly questions are all welcome. Some might even want to request a certain aspect of the story be told here, like how I just explained what happened with Acanthii after the incident in the lake. Anyway, thanks for reading.