Chapter 9

The Argonauts mission

I glared at Sophie and straighten my pose, "Ha! Haa!" I ran at her. She smiled and got ready for me.

I punched at her and jumped back, onto her hands, "Uh! Ah!" Then got up onto the corner rafter, "Mm! Remember what Dante told us. Always commit to your attack even if you expect a counter."

"Are you saying I have commitment issues?" I growled, "Haa! Hyperstride!" I ran and jumped on the mat to get to Sophie.

She jumped out of the way, "Uh!"

"Aah! Uh!" I hit my head on the rafter and fell straight down.

Sophie landed in front of the door, "Smooth. Do you want to spar or are you going to keep fighting yourself?"

I sat up and rubbed my head, "Ah! Of course you get it, Little Miss "I was trained from birth to be a Seeker.""

"Dante just told us that spell talents should be an extension of your natural technique. You're so obvious and awkward. " She explained.

"Dante's lessons always make sense to me Aah! Boltflare!" I tried to hit her with a surprise attack but she pushed my hand out of the way and knocked me onto my back again, "But I always end up on my back whenever I actually try and do it."

"We both practice every day, but you haven't improved at all since we got back from the last mission." She said sternly.

"I was gonna hit the library, but you were there yesterday so I figured all the books are still tired." I looked at her.

"Temper, temper, Lok. You're not mad because a girl got the best of you, are you?" She smiled.

I sat up as Cherit flew in, "Lok, Sophie! Dante's getting a mission from Guggenheim."

"All right! If I'm gonna be a master Seeker, I've got to go on some real missions!" I liked missions. They were fun.

"You should get down there and see what it's all about." He advised.

We changed and went to the living room as fast as we could. Sophie was tugging her sock on we got to the doorway. The older blond man was sitting on a blank background. Dante was sitting in his chair, "According to Greek mythology, their flagship, the Argo, was built around the beam of a divine tree."

"Which probably means it was really enchanted by a Seeker. You must be talking about Jason and the Argonauts!" Sophie chimed in.

"Mm, that's right. It's possible the hull of the ship could be intact." Dante turned and saw us.

"Mission- Jason and the Argonauts. Reach the port of Velos. Find the flagship Argo. Retrieve Jason's logbook and his Titans, the Hoplites." The screen showed pictures of a port and a underwater shipwreck.

"Guggenheim, I accept." Dante told him.

"Hmm." He smiled at Dante and blinked out. Dante got up from his chair and walked to the door, where I was.

I smiled at him, "A mission at last!"

He turned and went right to the outside, "And a big one. We'll need Zhalia's help."

"Uh!" Sophie made a disgusted noise.

Days later

We walked away from the fishermen who were laughing and waving at us, "What a pain! I just want to get right to solving the mystery of the Argos." I complained.

"I should be side by side with Dante! We would have figured this out in no time!" She stopped walking.

"No wonder you're always so hard on Zhalia. You're jealous cos, she's always paired with Dante!" I shrugged and smiled at her.

"Jealous?! Why would I be jealous of someone who puts on her make-up with a paint roller?!" She scoffed and made a roll-y motion.

"Okay, okay! Chill out. Just trust her, already. She has saved us like, a dozen times!" I put my hands up and jerked my thumb between me and the adults on the bench.

"Uh!" She looked away from me and walked on.

"…Or not." I frowned as we walked to the bench.

"There is a river several miles north of the coast." Sophie told them.

"Yeah. It's called Stavopop- something or other." I faltered, but smiled.

"The fishermen called it Starvopolous." Sophie corrected.

"Right! Stoopidy-poop-lows." I repeated.

"That's what we got."Zhalia said.

"It may be a local legend, but there's a chance the Argonauts sank the ships so no one else could use them. So… let's find out." Dante smiled.

Later

We were on a speedboat! Sophie was looking at a map. Dante steered us to a scary looking cave, "Let's have a look over there."

Dante stopped the boat and we gathered around, "I've input the available map data into the Holotome."

A map appeared, "That's our best bet. Anywhere else and it would've been spotted by now. Holotome, add a ship model right there." Zhalia told it and the ship fit.

"Perfect fit!" I cheered.

"We'll swim down and enter from this side. Even if the hull's been preserved by magic, we'll have to stay alert." Dante pointed to the red dots.

"What if there's trouble? Can we invoke Titans underwater?" I asked.

"Of course! Just stick to the heavy Titans like Freelancer or Kilthane. They'll be able to walk along the bottom." Cherit explained.

"Cherit, you keep an eye out for an unwanted guest. Everyone else, suit up." Dante closed the Holotome.

"All right! I've always wanted to learn how to scuba dive." I smiled.

We changed and then dove into the water. Dante and Sophie were in front of me. I stopped swimming and float upright for a moment. I followed them to the ship, a little bit behind. But at a point, a magic shield stopped Dante from going any closer and bounced him back to Sophie and Zhalia.

He gestured to the ship and grunted. Sophie nodded, "Hm-mm. Breakspell!" She aimed the orb and laser at the old magic shield and it popped. A pole broke off. Dante swam to the other side of the ship and the others followed faster than I did. I was last.

I swam upright and looked behind me when I noticed they were moving forward. I couldn't get my body flat like they could. Scuba diving is hard! I looked at something then I followed them down a hall. I noticed a crack in the wall and looked in.

A eel popped out and hissed at me! I swam back and hit the wall. Chunks of wood fell on me, "Ow!"

I picked up my flashlight and my eyes widened as I saw everyone was gone, "Where is everybody? Was it something I said?" I asked. I started to swim left.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

I strained as I tried to get the door open. The girls were shining their lights on the handle. I turned to them and Sophie huh-ed. I shook my head and straightened my arm with both fists touching. They stayed back, "Touchram!"

The ship rumbled and thousands of bubbles were sent up. Some planks fell from the ceiling. We avoided them. I properly looked at them then they looked at each other, "Huh? Lok…"

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

More wood fell from the upper part of the ship, "Uh! Hey! What's all that?" I looked up and shined my light. Then I felt something hit my air tank and the hose swished and wiggled and hissed, "Aah! No! Uh!"

I held the hose to my tank and opened the door I found, "Uh-Uh!" It was hard to breath then I could stay awake anymore and let go of the hose and felt my eyes close. I saw a blurry Dante swim by.

"Lok!" I heard as I floated downward. He picked me up and I took his mouth piece.

Lok's POV End

Third Person

"Touchram! Nimblefire!" Dante used the spells and rocketed as fast as he could to the surface. Lok couldn't move. Dante had to hold the mouth piece on him.

He broke the surface and gasped for air. Gasping, the auburn man carried his student to the shore and set him down. He took his goggles and listened for a heartbeat. The boy spluttered as Dante took his head off his chest and removed his own goggles.

"Oh, my!" Cherit frowned and wrung his hands together.

Third Person End

Lok's POV

"What happened?!" Sophie asked as she and Zhalia ran up to us.

"I got separated and…" I coughed, "the room started caving in. Didn't know what to do. I lost it."

"Don't worry. You felt a little out of your element, that's all." Dante told me.

"I don't think he has an element. He should know his own limits, for his own safety." Zhalia said, a little mad.

"Speaking of limits, is there one on your rudeness?" Sophie snapped at her.

"It's too dangerous to go back in there. The ship's unstable. We'll try something else tomorrow." Dante looked at them.

"What's the plan?" Zhalia asked.

"If we can't go down there, we'll bring the ship to us." He said simply.

The next day

We had Caliban, Freelancer, Icarus, and Kilthane summoned. Caliban threw the dagger and it landed in the rock.

"Thread the needle, Icarus!" Sophie commanded. Her Titan made a blue light and it became a rope and it went through the hole in the dagger. It wrapped around Sabriel's sword as Solwing surfaced and put a rope through a ring Dante had put on a rock.

"Okay, we're ready for the counterweights. Freelancer, Springer, tie 'em up!" I told my Titans.

Freelancer stabbed his lance into the rock he was next to and Springer tied his rope around a rock. Caliban and Freelancer then pushed the rocks into the water.

"How are the rings holding up?" Dante asked me.

"Good so far." I told him.

Lok's POV End

Zhalia's POV

We swam to the boat to get ready to push it. Metagolem started.

Zhalia's POV End

Lok's POV

"It's not enough." Dante told me and dove into the water.

Lok's POV End

Dante's POV

I dove into the water and swam for the ship, going past the other Seekers on my team. They turned and watched me go by. I went to Metagolem and planted my feet on the bottom of the river.

Dante's POV End

Lok's POV

"Huh! Aaah!" I shouted as Kipperen dropped me into the water. I found the others at the back of the old ship and joined them.

Dante slowly raised three fingers plus his thumb was sticking out, "Dragonfist!"

"Hyperstride! Sophie and I yelled. We pushed and Dante used Hyperstride as well. Metagolem made it easier, but it was still a superhuman task. I groaned a little. My teacher reused Dragonfist as the ship slowly dragged across the sandy river bottom.

With another Dragonfist, our efforts were almost rewarded, "Come on, one more push!" The ship floted out of our hands, "Yes, it's working!"

Metagolem lifted it up and carried it. We swam up to the surface just before the Argo broke the water, hull first.

"We did it!" Sophie cried.

We went to shore and got changed. Dante was looking at some metal poles, "We can tell this ship is from the right time period because the metalwork is bronze. Like these rods."

"Why bronze?" I asked.

"That's all they had. It took many more centuries to innovate ironwork and steel." Dante got up and grabbed one of the rods.

"So everything was made out of bronze back then? It was like the plastic of the ancient times?" I guessed.

"See? Our wreck looks just like the illustrations the Greeks left us of their vessels." Sophie looked at her book.

"However, there are things about this wreck that lead me to believe it's not the Argo itself." Dante said.

"Like what?" I asked him.

"It's way more cramped than the Argo's description in the ancient legends, isn't it?" Sophie observed.

"Yes. Also, the cabin layout is very simple. I'd expect that more from a flagship. My guess is that it's one of the ships in the Argonaut fleet, but not the Argo itself." Dante told us.

"NOW! Kreutalk!" Defoe yelled?

"Haa! Breaker!" Grier summoned his bear Titan.

"Yeaaah!" Some suits yelled, "Redcap!"

"Mindrone!" The other one yelled.

We backed up as the riverbank was crowded with enemy Titans. Defoe growled, "You are mine, Dante Vale! Poisonfang!"

Dante pushed me out of the way and I crawled to safety. Dante had jumped over the spell, "Go! Uh!"

The manta ray monster spewed acid out its mouth at Dante. Breaker roared. Dante held out Metagolem's amulet, "Lend us your might, Metagolem!" The amulet flashed then blinked as it couldn't complete its task, "Oh, no! I used up all my power in the ship." Dante looked worried.

"I always keep something in reserve for emergencies. Kilthane!" Zhalia said before summoning her black Titan.

It blocked our enemies from us, "Take cover in the ship!" Dante yelled.

Breaker roared again and clawed at Kilthane. Redcap tried to get him off balance. Defoe and his Titan both shot at Dante. He jumped out of the way. The suits shot at us as we jumped into the ship.

We were in a cabin, "Follow my lead. I know this looks pretty bad, but I have a plan." Dante reassured.

I looked outside and saw that they were planning something, "This guy may be a totally nut job, but he's got us cornered."

"Zhalia, Lok, Sophie, go the the main entrance on the deck and bar the door." Dante told us, looking at his Holotome.

"What about you?" Sophie worried.

"I'll be fine. Just trust me," Dante said, "You should use small Titans, like Gareon and Icarus, to conserve your strength. Now, take your positions."

"Huh!" I heard a grunt and Dante moved out of the way while Defoe missed and rolled.

The man was about to get up when Dante shouted, "Touchram! Defoe?" He smirked.

"Your time has come, Dante Vale. Mindrone!" He summoned the one eyed Titan, "Gar-Ghoul! Poisonfang! YAA!" Defoe charged, making Dante go backwards.

Then we had to go barricade the door. Zhalia and I shoved planks at the top of the door. Sophie was a little late, but she got to work. Cherit held a piece he thought was going to be useful.

"How long will this hold?" I asked as I set a chest down.

"Not very. Hope you're ready for a fight." Zhalia said, determined to win. I nodded.

Then we had stacked all we could against the door. Zhalia, me, and Sophie were near the door. Sophie didn't have anything to support.

"I'm going to help Dante." Sophie said.

"I think you'd better stay." Zhalia pushed against the door as it was being forced.

"Don't tell me what to do! No one gives orders to the heiress of the Casterwill family!" She said stubbornly.

I turned to her, "We got a job to do here, Sophie. Dante said so, right?" I looked at Zhalia.

"Huh-uh!" Zhalia agreed as we had to stop the Organization from getting through again.

"Anyone can make mistakes. Dante could be in trouble!" She shouted and ran off.

"Uh?" She left me! My cuddle buddy left me! Dante was stronger than us so that's why he's the leader, but she wanted to believe she was closer to his level than Zhalia who was actually his equal.

"You'd better go with her." Zhalia told me.

"Think again, Defoe!" I heard Sophie yell.

"Sophie, wait!" Dante warned.

"Aah! Boltflare!" She said.

"Apparently, the tides have turned, Mr. Vale." Defoe said. What happened, "Now it is you who must give up."

"Grr." Dante was mad.

"I'm sorry, Dante!" Sophie apologized.

"Unlike you, I have no weakness. I don't make friends of my colleagues, so they are expendable." I snuck in quietly. Defoe was holding Sophie hostage! I growled a little, but softly.

"You don't have any friends at all, Defoe." Dante stated.

"Boltflare!" I shot the evil meanie in the back.

"Uh!" Sophie grunted as she forced forward.

"Spidertouch!" Dante used the sticky spell on the sword.

"Arg!" Defoe yelped and then I slammed into him and Sophie tripped him. He fell right in front of Dante and he took the sword from him and twisted his wrist, "Uh! Agh! Agh"

"Yes! It must be time to eat, because Defoe just got severed." I smiled as I realized my spell got him in the seat of his pants.

"Dante, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to… Huh!" Sophie heard banging.

"No time for that. Help Zhalia." Dante said. We ran off to help our team mate.

We got there just in time. She had Gareon on her shoulder. I was on her right.

"I'm not here to bully Dante's puppy and a couple of girls," Grier said. How did he know I was werepuppy, "Just make this easy for everyone and surrender now!"

"Girls? You must mean Sophie. I'm a woman, a woman who's about to make you eat those words." Zhalia got in the army man's space.

"You take the three on the left, Sophie. I got the four on the right!" I told her, pointing, "I am my own puppy! Hyperstride!" I took a few jumped and landed on two suits. I rolled and then stopped, "Uh! This would be a lot easier if I still had enough power to summon Kipperin." I got up.

Zhalia was fighting Grier. He tred to hit her, but she dodged and kicked at him. Gareon used his laser beams. He ducked.

Sophie got out an amulet, "Air support, Icarus!" He made arrows and Sophie jumped in front of a suit and hit him.

A suit had grabbed me, but I pushed off the other suit and they both fell back. One hit a pole, "Hey, what are those holes?"

"Dragonfist!" Grier punched Gareon and sent him back to his amulet. Zhalia was really mad and tried to hit him, but he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Zhalia, no!" Sophie cried out.

"Raypluse!" Two suits yelled and took Icarus out.

Zhalia was trying to push out of Grier's grip when Dante yelled, "Enough!"

"Haa!" She finally got free and landed far enough away.

"Release him!" Grier demanded.

"Abandon ship, boys, or he walks the plank." Dante sneered, looking down at the man.

"I took an oath. I won't leave behind my commanding officer!" He yelled back.

We ran to Dante's side, "That won't be necessary, Grier. Promise you'll back off and I'll give you Defoe."

"He's from the Organization, Dante. You can't trust any of them." Zhalia warned.

"I'm with Zhalia. Do you really think someone like that would keep his word?" I asked.

"Mm." Sophie didn't look at Dante.

"So, what do you say?" Dante turned to the older man.

"Agreed. I won't break my word, Dante Vale." He answered.

Dante sighed and Defoe had crawled behind Grier, "Idiot! You will pay for life for this weakness! Men, attack! Show no mercy!"

"Mm-mm." Grier shook his head when the conflicted suits looked at him.

"What? What are you waiting for? Greir, I said attack! You are my minion, you idiot! Aah!" The man was on his knees and throwing a fit. That's what babies did. He's a crybaby. Grier picked him and left, "Let me go! I will have your head for this betrayal! You serve me! Me! Without me you are nothing! I will destroy you all! I swear it on my life! Noooo!"

"Sometimes, honor can be found where you least except it." Dante gestured.

"Aye! And so can courage!" Cherit added, "Lok took on four suits by himself and showed them a thing or two!"

I scratched the back of my head and smiled shyly as Zhalia spoke, "To be honest, I didn't think you had it in you." She bumped me with her arm and smiled.

"I did. Like I said, you work best under pressure." Sophie leaned forward a little.

"Well, it's only natural that such a mighty warrior should have a sword." Dante walked over and presented me the sword, bowing as he did.

"You mean it?" I asked.

"Lok, it's time you had the offensive power to match your conviction. This is the Titan Lindorm. Be warned, it's difficult to control." He told me, offering me the sword. I put my hand on the handle and took it.

It glowed with power and light and it shook so much I had to hold it with two hands.

"Lok!" Sophie worried.

"He's not going to able to bond with it!" Zhalia exclaimed.

I was enveloped in white light as Cherit said, "No, no! He must give the boy a chance."

"Uh! Aah!" I saw my friends waiting for me. Then a fuzzy bear serpent roared and became an amulet, floating into my hand. Then the sword shook again as it began an ugly, dull color and I dropped it on the ground. I'm the Alpha!

"That energy felt so destructive. I don't know if I could've bonded with that." Sophie said.

"But Lok managed, anyway!" Cherit shrugged.

"Just because you've bonded, Lok, doesn't mean you'll be able to control it in a real battle." Zhalia had her hands on her hips.

"For now, let's get back to our detective work." Dante said with a puzzled thinking look.

"Dante. What's the most important part of the ship for stability?" I asked, still holding Lindorm's amulet.

"Well, every sailing ship relies on a main mast." He raised his open hand.

"Right! I think I figured out what those bronze poles are for!" I said triumphantly.

We got the poles and put them in the holes I found, "Okay! Ready and PUSH! Uh!" Dante groaned.

We only turned a quarter when it stopped, "There!" I said.

Dante bent down and picked up a book. We walked to him. Sophie asked, "Wow! What is it?"

"A map. We were correct- the ship isn't the Argo. It belonged to Atalanta, one of the bravest of the Argonauts. But our map tells us where the Argo was sunk. Apparently, it was sunk in the deep waters near the Aegean Islands." Dante informed as we took some boxes we found.

"So to complete our mission, we got to track it down, don't we?" I asked, excited.

"Yes, but first we're going back to confer with Guggenheim." Dante said.

Third Person

Dante went to Zhalia with a bag. She was reading a book, "Zhalia, what do you make of this?" He tossed it to her.

She opened it, "These are Defoe's amulets! Separating a Seeker from an amulet isn't easy. You must have used the power Sorrowbond."

"Don't go making assumptions. I could've just asked for them nicely." Dante teased.

"This won't hold them for long," She touched one with her finger, "We need to get them to the nearest Huntik Foundation safehouse."

"That's right. While we check in with Guggenheim, I want you to take them." Dante said, pointing at her.

"But all this power- it seems like a waste." She said.

"Unfortunately, they've been bonded to a very evil man for too long to be useful to us." Dante explained and turned to walk away.

"Hey! Are you sure you want me to do this? I am the least trustworthy member of your team." She asked.

Dante turned to the blue haired woman and said, "Despite what Sophie says, I know that, at the end of the day, I can trust you."

"Oh! No one's ever said that to me before." Zhalia awed and smiled gratefully.

Third Person End