Chapter 34: Meeting the Gods
With how high they were on Divine Tower, a mostly everyone was relieved to be back on ground level. Sadly, that meant the end of the gorgeous view in the sky.
As they walked away from the tower, they returned to Delphine, who had an excited look on his face.
"You guys did it!" Delphine cheered. "You managed to get the portal to open! This means we'll finally get to meet the gods under the sea!"
"Sounds exciting," Mars remarked.
"Wait... Under the sea?!" Zanex gawked.
"That's right! Now hop on my back! We've gotta get to the portal immediately! Levith could be-"
Before he could finish, a wave had appeared in the far distance. It was gigantic, being able to swallow the entire island up. Then they got a look at the creature that created the wave.
It was a gray leviathan with a large mustache, but his white eyes looked out of place. They appeared lifeless and dull.
"That thing is huge!" Chalk gaped.
"It's Levith!" Delphine cried.
"THAT'S Levith?!" Nebule gawked. "He's so much bigger than I thought! But if he's here..."
"Don't worry. He's not interested in going into the portal. Luckily, he hasn't seen us yet. Just get onto my back quickly, and I'll try to get us away from him as fast as possible!"
The five leaped onto Delphine's back, and he immediately took off. At the speed he was going, Levith couldn't even see him. However, that didn't mean that he couldn't hear them...
Levith followed the sounds of Delphine swimming, letting out a roar that made his sound waves visible. It even caused the water to shake and create large waves that lingered over Delphine. But he remained confident and surfed on the wave with no problem.
"Hold on tight, guys..." Delphine warned. "This might get bumpy."
Delphine began to conjure up some magic, surrounding the others in a light blue barrier. Afterward, he dove into the water to let the wave fall over and prevent him from getting slowed down. He reemerged, but this time he increased his speed.
However, Levith ended up spotting Delphine this time, and he began to swim after him. Delphine kept going, not even bothering to look back at the infected god.
"Almost...there..."
When Levith was close enough, he leaped out of the water, creating a large shadow that darkened the water around the group. Seeing no other choice, the Chosen Ones got their weapons out and prepared for battle.
"No! Don't!" Delphine objected. "Attack him, and Levith might die."
"I don't plan on letting a big whale kill me," Zanex scoffed.
"Wait, we don't have to!" Malion exclaimed, looking up ahead. "We've reached the whirlpool!"
Delphine made another jump, but this time, he dove into the center of the whirlpool. Levith had dove into the water as well, but at the time he did, Delphine and the others were already gone.
A bitter look appeared in his eyes as he looked down at the whirlpool upon surfacing. With nothing else to do, it went back into the water and left the area.
"I...don't see him following us," Nebule noted, not seeing Levith diving after them. As of now, they were far below the whirlpool, going deeper down into the ocean. "But couldn't he follow us?"
"The portal was designed to repel anything that would be considered evil," Delphine informed. "And... Well, I think you get the idea."
"Uhhhh... Not to interrupt the conversation, but I think someone's having a hard time holding his breath." Mars informed, pointing over by Zanex, who was on the verge of drowning.
"Just hang in there..." Delphine sighed. "You guys will be fine pretty soon."
Before they knew it, a bubble like the one they found in the water of Pearl City appeared around them. Those that struggled to breathe underwater began to take deep breaths, relieved to have some air. But as that went on, the area around them began to brighten. From looking down, they could see the bottom of the ocean, along with a palace.
"That palace is huge!" Malion gaped.
"It sure is bigger than that one where Pear was," Chalk commented.
Much like Pearli's Palace, there were stripes that were glowing blue, but with some white glows added to it. There were many depictions of coral on the building's walls too. However, what stood out the most was the large fountain with a statue of Levith squirting bubbles from his blowhole into the pool below. A few Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps were roaming around the front of the palace too, but they sported a single antenna on their head with a glowing bulb.
"Here we are, folks," Delphine announced, landing on the floor. "Welcome to our realm! The Realm of the Gods!"
"Realm? So we're no longer in our world?" Nebule gawked.
"No, it's not like that. It's just a place that only those who are worthy can enter. I highly suggest you go see Medos. Since Levith has lost control, she has to take care of business from here. I believe she might have the answers you seek. Of course, it's not a bad idea to see the other gods too! They might be able to help you as well!"
"You're not coming with us?" Malion asked.
"My job is to be a messenger. You are essentially the message, and now you must go to your destination. Besides, I'm not the best with doors..." Delphine looked at his fins with a frown. "I don't have fingers like you guys."
"I don't have fingers, but I can open doors just fine," Chalk said.
"Really? Huh..." the dolphin trailed awkwardly. "Well... I guess you better go."
They said their goodbyes after hopping off Delphine's back and decided to get a move on toward the palace. As they walked, many Cheep-Cheeps and Bloopers gawked at him, making quiet comments along the way.
"Who are those people?"
"They're not from here?"
"Are they worthy enough?"
"Strange... Cheep-Cheeps and Bloopers don't often have antennas..." Malion trailed, noticing them. "I'm guessing these types are much different."
"I guess so," Nebule shrugged. "They are odd, though."
When they got to the statue, they decided to look at it for a moment. Its appearance did resemble the real deal that they saw back on the surface – just not as big, though.
"Why do they need a fountain underwater?" Mars asked. "Is there something else here that sort of acts like water underwater?"
"I don't know," Nebule shrugged. "Maybe Medos will tell us a lot more stuff on Levith. I mean, she's second-in-command, right?"
"Yeah. Let's go take a look." Malion agreed, walking past the statue. The rest followed, but Chalk stayed behind for a brief moment to look at the statue. In a scheming manner, he painted a mustache and silly-looking glasses on the statue before running after the other heroes.
As they reached the door, they didn't have to bother grabbing the doorknob. Heck, there was no doorknob at all! The door just opened on its own! Chalk looked up at the doorway to see where the rest of the door was, but he got pulled away before it could close down on him.
Everyone was caught off guard by the main entrance of the palace. It was massive, sporting three doors to the left and three more to the right. There were two staircases leading up to the second floor, which had the same amount of doors on both sides. Straight ahead on the second floor was also an elevator.
As they stepped further inside of the palace, they spotted Cheep-Cheeps, Bloopers, Goomba-like creatures with yellow spots all over their body called Octoombas, and many more. Unlike the people outside, they didn't pay any attention to them, as they were scurrying all over the place.
Since they felt that they had enough time, they decided to check out the other rooms. Strangely, the rooms they explored all sported desks and file cabinets. One Blooper was carrying a tower of papers, while an Octoomba was at the desk, filling out all of the papers. In the corner was a Yellow Block. Malion decided to smash it, revealing a Thunder Rage inside.
While there weren't anything special in the other rooms, the bottom right door did have a pot with a drooping plant. Chalk got his paintbrush ready and painted it blue, providing water. Suddenly, the plant grew into a waterflower, which resembled a sunflower, but it had light blue petals and a purple center. The smile on its face was enough to give them a Star Piece.
Not only that, but there happened to be a crack on the back of the staircase. Nebule dropped a bomb there to break through the crack, revealing a small room with Magic Powder for them to collect. When that was finished, they went upstairs to check the other rooms.
While the first floor sported many office rooms, the second floor had more relaxing stuff. The left doors had two beds in a room with some lovely pearls and clams in the corners, and the beds had blankets made of seaweed. The right doors had tables with many underwater creatures playing games such as "Go Toad" or "Cards Against Divinity". The latter seemed to be played more often, though.
Believing they had seen enough, the five heroes approached the elevator door and pressed the up button beside it. The door opened, revealing a clam platform and two ropes holding it in place. A green jellyfish with cartoony eyes was holding onto the lever.
"Going...up?" the jellyfish panted.
"Yeah," Malion nodded.
"Going...UP!" the jellyfish started to crank the lever, causing the elevator to ascend. Of course, with the combined weight of the five, the jellyfish found itself struggling to crank it quickly. But thankfully for it, the ride was not too long, and when the elevator reached the top, the door opened. "Here...we are! Thank...you for choosing...this ride..."
The group gave their thanks as they walked out of the elevator. Relieved, the jellyfish wiped its forehead with a sigh. ...Unfortunately, that meant its grip was gone on the lever, causing the elevator to plummet.
"I'm sure that thing's fine," Chalk assured, looking at the small hallway before them. Luckily, there was no pit or trap in there way, so it was a nice walk from here. That said, on the walls were many lights ranging from blue to white, and the door ahead had depictions of corals and clams.
When they opened the door, several people had instantly come out and left them spinning around briefly. After that, they found another hallway dead ahead. Only this time, it was bigger and filled with many people at desks doing work. Several papers were on their desks too.
"Whoa... What the heck is going on here?" Nebule gawked.
"Looks like things are going downhill without their precious god," Zanex deduced.
"Busy seems more accurate..." Mars trailed.
Unsure of what to do, the five decided to look around as they made their way to the door ahead. From what they could see, everything was a big mess. Every worker looked like they were very busy.
As soon as they reached the door, two, burly orange jellyfish stood in their way with their tentacles crossed.
"Who dares try to enter the room of Medos?" the first jellyfish asked, only to pause for a moment. "...If that is even her room, right?"
"Yeah," the other nodded.
"Well, we were brought here by Delphine," Malion explained. "He told us we could find Medos here."
"Oh, that's what they ALL say..." the jellyfish groaned, rolling its eyes. Once again, it found itself pausing for a moment. "Wait a second... We never had people like you come down here... HOW'D YOU DO IT?!"
As the jellyfish began to ramble on, the other sighed and moved him out of the way. "Let's just let them through..."
The two opened the door, letting the five access to the room ahead. However, instead of looking like a royal place with a rug leading up to a throne, there was a rug leading up to a desk. There, a anthropomorphic female jellyfish with yellow eyes and a lavender robe. A couple of papers were in her hands as well, along with a drink.
"Things are not going well here..." Medos sighed. "Without Levith here, the sea is in trouble! And I can't do all of this work on my own either! He does a better job with it!"
"Ummmm... Excuse me?" Nebule spoke up, getting the goddess's attention.
"Huh? Who're you people? And how the heck did you get here?"
"Delphine brought us here," Malion answered.
"Oh, Delphine? Well, that's not surprising... I mean, it's not like he brought someone here in over-" Medos did a double take for a moment once the gears in her head started to work, and she spat her drank out on Nebule, to his dismay. "Wait, DELPHINE brought you here?! If that's the case, then maybe... You guys are the Chosen Ones!"
"That's what they call us!" Chalk smiled.
"That must mean you're after the Land Tablet as well... I'd give it to you if I had it, but unfortunately, it's in Levith's possession...or rather, the one controlling him, Palouse."
"Palouse?" Malion gawked.
"Yeah. We found out that a parasitic monster named Palouse had managed to take control of Levith after many years and cause havoc all over Water Land. He is a very dangerous being..."
"Hold on..." Nebule paused, taking out Project Krypton. "Hey, this mentions someone named Palouse and also Levith! The Shadow King was responsible for this!"
"The Shadow King?" Medos gawked. "So THAT explains it! With the power he has, he could do something like that..."
"I'm guessing you have no idea how to help us then," Zanex assumed.
"Actually, I do have an idea. It's dangerous, but it just might work. Since most of the ocean has been taken over by those dark monsters, you'll have to go to one of their headquarters far out in the sea, otherwise known as the Forbidden Fortress. They might have a map that can help you find Levith's Temple. That's the place where you can summon him."
"Couldn't we just wait for him to arrive and attack?" Mars questioned.
"No. You'll just get yourself killed." Medos deadpanned. "Plus, the sea is WAY too big for you guys to wait for him. Sure, he goes after people in the water, but it doesn't take him a split second to get to you. You're better off calling for him at the temple with the bell. Then you can get to him and get onto his head where his blowhole is. You see, we found out that something crazy is going on specifically in Levith's blowhole. That's where most of the dark power is, according to Bubby. That said... To do all of this, you need to go to the Forbidden Fortress those evil monsters have set up. Delphine got a chance to see that, and believe me, it is heavily guarded."
"Well, if you guys are so powerful, then why don't you do all of this yourselves?" Zanex asked.
"For one... The darkness has somehow weakened our powers... Which explains why it was easy for Palouse to gain control of Levith. That won't help us against the Shadow King's minions. So... We basically aren't as powerful to take them on. And two... Levith far exceeds our powers. We'd probably become god food to him."
"Oh..." Mars trailed. "That stinks."
"Yeah, it stinks. Just like that one guy we found out was taken to the fortress."
Malion's ears immediately perked up. "...Wait, someone else was taken there?!"
"According to our scouters, they spotted some dark knight carrying a man. They said he had a mustache and cap..." Medos recalled, squinting her eyes at Malion. "Come to think of it, that description sounds a lot like you! ...I hope he's not as fat as you."
"But I'm-a not fat!"
"Anyway..." Medos began, ignoring Malion's comment. "I suppose I'll go tell Delphine to take you guys to the fortress, since the others are trying to find a way to get to Levith's Temple. Maybe you might run into them along the way."
"OK, we'll go back to that guy and tell him the news," Chalk declared, turning away to leave.
"Oh, that won't be necessary," the jellyfish god assured, stopping Chalk in his tracks. She pulled out a purple conch shell. "I'll just bring him to us!"
She blew a sound from the shell that created a white sound wave. It traveled past the heroes and out of the building without them hearing it. ...Well, with the exception of one. He ended up sensing the sound and crashing into the ceiling.
"I am here, Medos!" Delphine saluted. "What do you need?"
Medos looked up at the damaged ceiling and smacked her forehead. "Ugh... That's going to take forever to fix... Well, I was just speaking to these heroes, and I have come to the conclusion that they're the Chosen Ones. They have also agreed to help us save Levith from that foul Palouse."
"Well that's good news! So how are they going to get to that fortress?"
"You'll be taking them, of course."
"What? Awwww... I was hoping I'd be able to play some Cards Against Divinity with some of the others..."
Medos narrowed her eyes angrily. "What?"
Delphine realized what he said and gulped. "Uh oh..."
"People are actually PLAYING that game?!" Medos hissed. The look on her face was enough to make Delphine shrink in place. "...Why the heck didn't they ask me to play?!"
"Oh... Uhhhhh... I...don't know?" Delphine sweat dropped, looking confused while returning to his normal size.
"...Just take these guys back to the surface."
"Right!" Delphine nodded, using his tail to lift the five off the ground and onto his back. "Come on, guys! Let's get you back to the surface and to that fortress! Then we'll try finding Levith's Temple afterward!"
Like a bullet, Delphine swam through the ceiling, creating another hole beside the other. Medos could only look in annoyance at the two holes.
"Would it kill him to use the hole he made last time?" Medos groaned. Just as she was about to get to work, the rest of the ceiling crumbled and fell on her. She popped her head out of the debris with her eyes narrowed.
"All right, so I guess I'm going to be hanging out with you guys longer than I expected," Delphine said as he swam out of the palace. "We'll try to make some progress underwater, and then I'll get you guys to the Forbidden Fortress upon reaching the surface. That way, it's much safer."
"I guess that can work," Nebule nodded,
"As long as I don't drown," Zanex mentioned.
"All right, then... Hold on tight!" Delphine suggested as he sped up. "I don't plan on slowing down!"
Everyone held on for dear life as Delphine began to move even faster. Already, the group spotted something far off in the distance. It appeared to be a barrier between the light and dark section of this land. Delphine found himself stopping in front of it. An uncertain look appeared on his face.
"Oh, man... I can feel some really dangerous stuff through here..." Delphine trailed. "I don't know if swimming underwater is really the safe way through here."
"Then maybe we should go back to the surface," Mars suggested. "I mean, I think we'd have a better time defending ourselves."
"You're right. I suppose I don't have much of a choice... You people are land creatures, after all. Plus, I don't know if I'd be as strong in the dark area. You guys don't seem to lose your strength compared to me. So... Prepare to go back up!"
Like a torpedo, Delphine instantly swam upward. Everyone found themselves holding on to dear life once again.
When they finally resurfaced, the bubble barriers surrounding the five were no longer present, and they could get a glimpse of the clear sky once again. ...But the sky wasn't blue due to the border between the light and dark area of this land. It was...more of a mixture between the light and dark sky.
Delphine didn't bother wasting anyone's time and dove through the border. Now they had entered the dark seas, and boy did the water look bad. It was completely opaque, as if the waters were polluted with the Shadow King's dark power, along with the sea creatures that swam in this portion of the sea.
In fact, Delphine felt himself growing weaker as he continued to swim. His shiny blue skin was becoming duller, as if the darkness was draining him of his energy. This did not go unnoticed by the others.
"Hey... Why are you becoming dull?" Chalk asked.
"I'm sorry... I think I forgot to mention that when I enter this area, I become weaker..." Delphine explained. "I'm using the remaining power I have to keep swimming. I'm not like the gods, so I can't contain my power so well. You guys will have to stop any enemies from attacking me if it comes to that."
"Right," Nebule nodded.
Everyone had their weapons out just to be on the safe side, and they scanned the area around them as Delphine continued to move. Malion, in particular, had a determined look on his face.
"Don't worry, Lubert..." Malion thought, gripping his hammer tightly. "We're going to get to you soon... Just hang in there!"
As they continued looking, the sound of a cannonball caught them off guard. One had barely managed to hit Delphine and splashed into the water. To the right, they found a small, black ship with silver horns protruding from the sides and a cannonball. Everyone immediately faced it and readied their weapons.
Before the ship, known as a Battleship, could fire another cannonball, Nebule fired a light arrow that pierced through the ship and created and explosion that made it sink into the water below. Unfortunately, they barely had time to celebrate when another Battleship ahead fired. Zanex jumped and sliced the cannonball so many times swiftly that it looked like it disintegrated.
The Battleship fired another cannonball, but Chalk was able to stop it this time by splitting his brush and firing white paintballs. It froze in midair and fell into the water. He then fired paintballs at the Battleship, sinking it with a single explosion.
Three more Battleships were blocking the way ahead, forcing Delphine to slow down. The first one fired a cannonball, which Nebule managed to slice through with the Sword of Light. When the ship was close enough, Zanex drew his blade and swung it twice. When he finally sheathed his weapon, the Battleship was sliced and half and exploded.
The other Battleship's cannonball was stopped when Mars grabbed it with her Grapple Beam and threw it into the water. Afterward, she leaped off Delphine and used her Thrusters to hover in the air while firing. When the Battleship was ready to fire another cannonball, Mars fired a charged shot into the cannon and let it destroy the ship from the inside. She had no issues getting back onto Delphine's back.
Malion had his hammer ready in the same manner as a baseball bat when the last Battleship fired a cannon. He swung with all his might and sent the cannonball back at the ship, damaging it, but not entirely destroying it. Putting his new ability to test, Malion split his hammer and started to throw a barrage of hammers at the Battleship. It stood no chance against them, and it too had exploded. When he was finished, Malion formed his hammer back into one.
All Delphine could do was stare wide-eyed at the action.
"Whoa..." Delphine gaped. "I knew you Chosen Ones were supposed to be tough, but not THAT tough."
"Because we're special," Chalk proclaimed.
"Yes... I can certainly tell. With your abilities combined, I think I should be safe moving."
"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Zanex spoke bluntly. "I'm already getting impatient, and I would like to actually move freely for a moment."
"Well, more room would be nice," Mars admitted.
"Don't worry, we shouldn't be too far..." Delphine assured, scanning the area. "At least, I hope so..."
As Delphine scanned around the area, something caught his eyes, forcing him to stop. Up ahead, there were two, small watch towers with an electrical cage in between. Trapped inside was a large Blooper.
"Oh no..."
"What's wrong?" Nebule asked.
"Don't tell me Blooeity got caught in that cage..." Delphine sighed. "Oh, man... Medos won't be happy if she hears about this. ...You guys think you can try to free him?"
"And who is this worthless squid?" Zanex scoffed.
"For your information, he is a god! Boy, if he heard you say that, you'd be in a whole lot of trouble..."
"I doubt I would if we just left him in there."
"No, we're going to help him," Nebule stated, pointing at the hedgehog. "And you're going to apologize afterward."
Zanex scoffed in response, while Delphine slowly made his way toward the watch towers. From what they could see, there were at least two Shadoo Blades, along with a Shadoo Defender.
Malion was the first to grab the ladder in front of him and climb up. The Shadoo Blades spotted him and rolled up in a ball to strike him. The blacksmith, however, had other plans. He brought his hammer in front of him to block their attacks, and then he split his hammer into two to swing at them. Besides, it was a lot easier to smack enemies around with two smaller hammers instead of one, big one.
Right after he knocked the Shadoo Blades into the water, he formed his hammer into one and struck the Shadoo Defender with all his might. That alone was enough to take it out and clear the first watch tower. With the enemies gone, Malion went over to the lever and pulled it, stopping one of the electric currents holding the cage.
"Bloobloop?" Blooeity gawked.
"I got the other one!" Chalk proclaimed, grabbing the other ladder and climbing up to the other tower. There were two Shadoos with what appeared to be a small turret attached to their hands. These enemies, called Shadoo Rangers, spotted Chalk and started to fire dark projectiles at him. He jumped from side to side to dodge them, and when he finally approached one of them, he painted it yellow to paralyze it. Chalk took down the other Shadoo by painting it red, and then he finished the other off with blue paint. He then pulled the last switch, freeing Blooeity from his prison.
When he splashed into the water, the waves left behind from it were so strong, that the watch towers began to fall over. Thankfully, Chalk and Malion were able to get back onto Delphine before that could happen.
"BLOOBLOOP! (FREEDOM!)" Blooeity cheered, emerging from the water.
"What is he even saying?" Mars gawked.
Blooeity spotted Delphine and the group immediately and noticed their expressions. "...Oh, right. My bad. That's just the way I pretend to be a Blooper. Lemme get back to my real form."
The Blooper closed his eyes, and in a bright flash of light, his appearance changed drastically. Instead of appearing as a normal Blooper, he appeared more god-like. His skin was tinted a light green, and two, pointy green stripes were on both sides of his face. There were even circular stripes on his tentacles as well. One of them, however, were duller compared to the others.
"It's a pleasure to meet you guys," Blooeity said. "My name is Blooeity. As you can see, I'm a god – well, I'm more like a minor one. Levith is the real deal, but, well..."
"We already know the details," Malion assured.
"Oh... Well, then that makes it easier for the both of us! I'm guessing you're heading over to the Forbidden Fortress."
"I'm taking them there," Delphine replied.
"Ah, so we're both heading to the same place! Good! After what you guys did, I think getting there shouldn't be a problem! Although... With this dark sea, anything dangerous could happen... But I'm sure my powers can help us..."
"So, is Bubby around the fortress?"
"I think so... Only one way to find out!"
Blooeity charged onward, creating large waves on both sides. Delphine followed behind, not giving the others any warning of going fast. Regardless, they held tight and prepared for one heck of a ride.
Any obstacles such as sharp rocks and Battleships were plowed down when Blooeity swam into them. Some of them ended up fleeing, but the waves ended up swallowing them instead.
Luckily, the travel did not last too long, and they were lucky not to run into many enemies along the way. To the heroes, this was strange, but to Delphine and Blooeity, they didn't seem to worry.
Then Blooeity paused when he looked at the water in front of him bubble.
"Huh? Why'd you stop?" Chalk asked.
"Something's not right..." Blooeity said with concern. "I think there's something emerging..."
"Those are some small bubbles, though," Mars remarked. "I mean, it's not like what's underneath will be so bi-"
A large Battleship emerged, having three spikes on the top and multiple cannons. It also had shields surrounding itself.
"Oh... I stand corrected."
The heroes tried firing ranged attacks at the large ship, otherwise known as a Warship. But with the shields in the way, there was no chance of hitting it. Eventually one of the shields dropped, allowing the Warship to fire a spiky cannonball. Nebule had managed to stop it by throwing a bomb at it.
"Ugh... How are we supposed to hit this thing with all those shields?" Nebule grunted. "Malion could try to do something, but we'd have to get close, and I don't think that'd be safe..."
"Hmmmmmmm... I might have a plan..." Blooeity realized. Before anyone could question, his eyes started to glow green.
Just as the Warship revealed one of its cannons, Blooeity fired two green lasers from his eyes that pierced through the ship and created explosion from the inside. As a result, it began to sink into the ocean.
"OK... How did you do that?!" Mars gaped.
"I'm a god. What'd you expect?"
"Oh. ...But aren't you weak here?"
"Well, yeah... My powers are kinda limited here, but it was enough to take down that ship. Although, I did use a lot of energy on that attack, so don't expect me to save you guys like that again..."
"Thanks for that anyway," Nebule said. "It was pretty neat."
"You thought that was neat? My powers are nothing compared to the greater gods! Levith has powers greater than that, and the king of gods, Heus, is even greater! ...Although, Staris the Star God kind of gives him a run for his money too. He can become so powerful if he-"
"Blooeity... Maybe we shouldn't get off track..." Delphine sweat dropped.
"Oh, you're right. We should get going. The fortress is just up ahead!"
Upon arriving near the Forbidden Fortress, they could finally get a better glimpse of the place. For starters, there were several buildings linked together, and in the center was a larger one. Three spotlights being operated by Shadoos were on the outer portion of the island as well, shining down on both the outer and inner part of the Dark Fortress. The entire place was surrounded by sharp rocks too, preventing intruders from getting in. That wasn't the only bad thing, though. On the rocks were some cannons to destroy intruders as well.
"Whoa... I knew this place was dangerous, but it looks like security's increased here." Delphine gawked. "This is not good..."
"Delphine! Blooeity!"
A blue fish with a white underbelly wearing shades had emerged from the water. He was much smaller compared to Delphine and Blooeity, being around the size of a normal Cheep-Cheep.
"Bubby!" Delphine cheered. "How long have you been here?"
"A while..." Bubby sighed. He took notice of the five heroes and looked surprised. "Hey... Who are these people?"
"They're the Chosen Ones. They plan to get in there and find the location to Levith's Temple!"
"Oh... Great! That's really good for us! …But we've run into a big problem here. Apparently this place has gotten even more heavily guarded than before. I had an idea of how to get in there, but I don't think that's possible now."
"How could a place change like this so quickly?" Blooeity pondered.
"Well... I don't know if I was seeing things, but I saw a boat with two of those dark knight guys holding someone prisoner." Bubby recalled. "He... He looked kind of similar to that mustache man you've got with ya!"
Malion's eyes widened in shock, soon followed by a serious look. "Lubert... He's in there! We need to get in there now!"
"I'm guessing that guy is someone close... But I've checked out for a way to get in, and sadly, I found none. Sorry, but I don't think I can help you guys..."
"But we need to get in there somehow! My brother is in big trouble!"
"Hmmmmmmm..." Blooeity pondered, wondering if the idea he had in mind would work. "I MIGHT have an idea... But it might be dangerous."
"If it'll get us in there, then tell us what you've got," Malion pleaded.
"All right... But I don't think you guys are gonna like it..."
The group seemed relatively calm after hearing the plan, but now, they didn't seem to like the idea when Blooeity had them trapped in his tentacles.
"Wait, what?!" Nebule gaped, struggling to break free. "This isn't what I had in mind!"
"Easy there!" Blooeity cried. "That's my bad tentacle! No need to make it worse! Besides, this is the only idea I had in mind, and I don't think there's any other way."
"So we're going to be thrown?" Chalk asked.
"...Were you even listening to my plan?"
"But it went by so fast!"
"It doesn't matter now," Malion stated. "I will do anything to try to save my brother, even if it means getting thrown by a giant Blooper."
"Don't worry, I'll try to make sure you guys get in there without being spotted," Blooeity assured, moving his tentacles back. "OK, you guys ready?"
"Just throw already," Zanex suggested.
"...OK then," Blooeity threw them with all his might, sending the five flying in the air. He, Delphine, and Bubby waved goodbye as they flew farther away.
"Woo! This is actually pretty neat!" Mars remarked, enjoying the ride. "It's like flying my ship – only this time, I'm being sent flying!"
"Well I'm not enjoying it!" Nebule cried, spinning vertically unlike the others.
As they got closer to the fortress, they could get a better glimpse of what was in it now. This included a couple of spotlights on a large part of the area by one of the doors leading inside one of the buildings.
...Well, except for Nebule.
He ended up crashing into the tall building. The force knocked his sword, bombs, and bow out of his inventory and into one of the smaller buildings through a hole. Unconscious from the crash, Nebule started to plummet into the water.
Just as the others landed by a staircase near the water, they watched in horror as the blonde boy fell in.
"Neboup!" Chalk cried.
"Oh, no... His weapons are gone too!" Malion gasped.
"Geez..." Mars trailed. "Could this get any worse?"
As if on cue, a few, large shadows appeared on the ground, and rising out were black, shadowy disembodied hands known as Shadow Hands. They grabbed the four and dragged them into the shadows.
"...I spoke too soon," Mars gulped, she and the others unable to escape.
When they were pulled in, the large shadows disappeared.