/
The gang suited up, wearing their diving apparatus with their swimsuits; Woody took the ADS helmet, Zack, Cody, and Bailey took tanks from the near-future, the small ones, London took a golden wristband with a tube that went to the mouthpiece, and Ms. Tutweiller went with a bottle of white pills.
"How do these work?" Ms. Tutweiller asked
"You'll see," Cody said
Ms. Tutweiller swallowed two of them as the bottle instructed. Cody then took out his laser gun, and fired a barrage of blasts at the railing, knocking a section down.
"Everyone ready?" Cody asked
"What?" Woody yelled, through his thick helmet
Cody opened up the helmet's front hatch.
"Are you ready?" Cody yelled
"Yep!"
Cody closed the hatch. He then placed his respirator in his mouth, and dived off the edge of the ship. Bailey followed. Then London stepped up to dive.
"Wait, London," Ms. Tutweiller said, "You can't dive in a bikini; it'll come right off."
"Oh, you're right!" London said, "I'll just go throw on a T-shirt."
Zack punched Woody on the shoulder, very hard.
"Ow! What did you do that for?" he groaned
"Because I can't hit Ms. Tutweiller!" Zack replied
"Fair enough…"
/
The gang was all in the water. The ship still hadn't moved.
"Cody, I don't think the pills are working," Ms. Tutweiller said
"Let me check," Cody offered
He felt the side of his teacher's neck.
"It's starting," he announced
"What is?"
Ms. Tutweiller felt her neck.
"Oh no, I think I cut myself…" she looked at her hands to see if there was blood, "Ah!"
To the woman's shock, her hands had become webbed.
"It's ok, it's supposed to do that," Cody replied, "The pills are from the water planet Aquaterra, they're used by tourists to explore the sunken cities, gives you gills and webbed appendages. But enough of that; everyone follow me down."
/
They all began swimming to a bright light at the bottom of the ocean, which Cody believed was the source of the troubles. Cody believed it was not an unpleasant task. The belt kept him nice and warm, the air was fresh, and the water was so calm that he had plenty of time to think. If Simon had escaped from the Eternal Fissure, then that would mean that there was a brief period of time in which the dimensional barrier was open.
"Hey Zack," Cody said, through a radio in the mask
"Yeah?" Zack replied
"Dad'll probably visit us sometime soon."
"Sweet. Did he e-mail you?"
"Uh…yeah."
/
Eventually, they arrived at the source of the light, a large metal disc in the ground.
"We'll need to get inside," Cody announced, over the radio
The gang swam around the disc, trying to find an entrance. Cody swam underneath it, lighting the way with a flashlight. Woody followed him.
"What does the entrance look like?" Woody asked
As he spoke, his voice echoed in the helmet. Cody grinned.
"Woody, say 'Luke, I am your father'," Cody begged
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
"Luke, I am your father," Woody said
"Awesome!"
/
Ms. Tutweiller found the entrance; she placed her hand on the ship, and it automatically opened up, pulling the CHARIOT gang in. It felt like going through a water-slide; they came shooting into a control room. It was chrome, with computers around the perimeter and a single window that stretched all the way around, showing the views of the ocean.
"What is this?" Ms. Tutweiller asked
"It's a gravity anchor," Cody deduced, "it's used on water planets to stabilize boats on the surface so seasick tourists can go somewhere that's steady."
Cody snapped his fingers.
"That's why it opened for you," he said, "It recognized your webbed hands and thought you were Aquaterran."
Cody attempted to override the computers.
"That's odd," he said, "Some of these have been hacked. The only reason you'd need to hack an Aquaterran craft is…oh no."
Too late; suddenly, bars shot down over the windows, and the exits locked. Cody reached for his laser gun, only to realize he had left it on the ship.
"Forget something?" a chilling voice said
Suddenly, from out of thin air a teenager appeared; he was dark haired, about Cody's height, and was dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and combat trousers. He carried a laser gun similar to Cody's, only it was different, made from copper and having a rusty spike sticking out of the barrel.
"Simon," Cody breathed
"Hello, Cody," Simon growled
"I heard you escaped," Cody said, "How did you do it?"
"You left me trapped in a repeating loop in space where reality and fantasy coincided into one timeless nightmare," Simon sneered, "Would it have stopped you?"
"No," Cody admitted
Simon fired his gun at Cody, knocking him against the wall. Bailey ran to help him.
"Don't!" Simon warned
Bailey moved back; Simon observed the CHARIOT gang.
"So this is your crew?" Simon said, "The farm girl, the spinster, the doofus, the heiress, and…"
Simon gave Zack a suspicious look.
"Zack, right?" he asked
"Who wants to know?" Zack replied
Simon's look of hatred was replaced with one of confusion.
"You mean you don't know who I am?" Simon asked
"Cody said you were some psychopath from the future," Zack said, "And he's not wrong."
"Oh, brilliant," Simon grinned
"Don't you dare tell him," Cody groaned, getting up
"Why not?" Simon asked, "It'd be fun!"
"Tell me what?" Zack asked
"Zack, you're not ready to know," Cody said
"Isn't that for him to decide?" Simon asked
"No!" Cody replied
"I think I should tell him," Simon said, "Zack…"
Suddenly, there was a change in colors in the room, red, blue, purple, and then complete black. When the colors returned to normal, Kurt Martin, Zack and Cody's father, was standing next to Cody. He didn't look like his normal self. Instead of his usual casual rock-n-roll clothes, he was wearing a dark brown robe.
"Hello, boys," Kurt said
"Hey dad," Zack and Cody said
Kurt looked sternly at Simon.
"I thought I told you to leave Cody alone," Kurt said
"I have the right to my revenge," Simon replied
"Not if it's on your own brother."
"WHAT?" Zack exclaimed
"What?" Bailey cried
"What?" Woody asked, opening his helmet
/
To be continued…