March 31, 2020:
Author notes:
Hello, everyone!
Sorry for being a day late, but yesterday was a VERY busy day. Had to be ready for the quarantine... yes, it is happening in where I live now. While for the last 2 weeks the Mexican government started saying that we need to prepare, it is until now that they and the population are starting to take it seriously. Right now, I'm not going to work because of it, and while I have already bought food and water to last for some weeks since early January when I saw it hitting America, I now had to make the final preparations. Dont worry, I'll take care of myself. I was getting ready since January. Yesterday was busy because it was my last day at work (unless they call me) for probably the next 2 or 3 weeks to a month, depending on what the government say.
Anyway, lets continue with this fic.
So, for this chapter's soundtrack (always try and seek the extended versions) :
-Enemy Attack (Final Fantasy X Soundtrack)-
-The Fierce Battle (Final Fantasy V Arrenged Soundtrack)-
-Light World, Normal Battle (Final Fantasy Dimentions Soundtrack)-
-Jikai Yokoku (Digimon Tamers Soundtrack)-
Oh, by the way, a little warning, as in this chapter I will kind of describe a broken bone, so if you are of livid imagination, you'll probably find it a little disturbing. Is not much and only a few lines, but just a warning.
And now, to the next chapter :3
Chapter 20: The sinking of the Ghost Ship
-Location: Agetan Sea -
-Music: Enemy Attack (Final Fantasy X Soundtrack)-
"Damn it! They are here too?!"
"Are they endless?!"
"Just run, mateys!"
It's been probably an hour or so after the group of Kristal, Rubina and Alan start being chased by the almost endless Zombie horde inside the ship. They did fight them a little, as the Zombies were pretty weak, but after seeing that they keep coming and coming, they decided to flee again, trying to lose them… but even more Zombies keep appearing, even from doors and hallways the group once check before and were empty.
"Where the hell were these Zombies hiding?!" Asked Alan in anger while running. "We were walking across the ship for hours and we saw no one! But now they are thousands! This makes no sense!"
"I don't know!" Exclaimed a scared Kristal, her eyes closed and yet knew where to go. "But we need to keep run-"
"End of the road, lads!" Exclaimed Rubina, making both to stop.
After running for a couple of minutes in a hallway, the group stopped because, in front of them, there was the end of the hallway, the end of the road, as there was nothing else.
"Who the hell put this hallway with a dead end?!" Asked Alan in anger… before realizing. "Oh, right… ghost ship."
"What can we do? We can't turn back?!" Asked Kristal in fear. "They are coming!"
"Whatz do we do, Friend Alan?" Questioned Rubina, looking back at the hallway.
"… I don't know… but maybe…"
Alan then began looking at the wall, trying to feel something… until he managed to feel some breeze.
"Aha! Found it!" Exclaimed the human.
"What is it?" Questioned Kristal with fear.
"I can feel an air current between the wood, meaning there must be another hallway on the other side! If we can break the wall, then we can escape."
"Then leave it to me!" Exclaimed Kristal, before punching the wall with all her strength… and hurting herself. "Oww! What? It's too strong!"
"Oh no… the interior is made the same way as the exterior?" Asked Alan.
"Wait… you mean like the same exterior that managed to resist ALL of our spells and canon shots?"
"Probably. We need to hit it with all our strength!"
"Better hurry Friend Alan! Theyz ar here!" Exclaimed Rubina, looking at the hallway, and seeing the zombies getting close. "Will face them! Yer better break that wall!"
And with that, Rubina summoned her lightning drum beaters and began hitting the Zombies with them, destroying anyone who is getting close. While she was at it, Kristal continue hitting the wall, but it was no use.
"My strength doesn't work on it." Said Kristal, feeling her hands tired and numb. "It absorbs my punches and spells! Nothing works!"
"Wait, is this magical or something?" Asked Alan with confusion.
"I can feel some magic, yes…" said the blondie, putting her hand on the wall. "It has some kind of magic energy. A spell protects the ship and all of inside. It feels… something shadowy…"
"… Darkness?"
"… yeah, I can feel darkness. Whatever this is spell comes from, it protects this ship."
"Then I'll use the Keyblade." Said Alan, summoning his Flames of Chaos Keyblade. "If it's darkness based, maybe I can destroy it."
Alan hit the wall with all of his strength, but it did nothing… almost nothing. He noticed a small chip of wood after he hit it, meaning it was working. Next, he grabbed the Keyblade like a battle ram and tried to ram it on the wall, making cracks in the…wood?
"Weird, but it's working!" Expressed Alan. "I'll need more time!"
"Hurry, friend Alan!"
Alan and Kristal turned to look at Rubina. The Sage of Lighting just created a powerful lighting spell that destroyed every single zombie in the hallway, turning them into dust. However, even more zombies came running, causing her to fight once again. She has been doing that for a few minutes, but even more Zombies keep coming.
"Damn it! Rubina won't last long!" Said Alan, before turning to the Dark Magician Girl. "Kristal, you need to fight those Zombies."
"W-what?!" Asked Kristal in surprise and fear. "Fight the Zombies?! NOOO! I don't want to fight them!"
"Kristal, listen to me! I need you to do this!" Exclaimed Alan, grabbing her by her shoulders.
"But I'm scared!" exclaimed the blondie mage, almost on the verge on crying. "And frustrated about this!"
"Then release that anger on them!" He said, pointing at the hallway, where Rubina was trying to face the Zombies, but she was slowly being pushed back. "Use your spells and destroy them! Release that anger and frustration you have on them!"
"What are you saying?" asked the blondie with confusion.
"We have to face our fears to overcome them. So Kristal, I ask you… kill those Zombies!"
He turned her towards the hallway, where Rubina was fighting the Zombies.
"Just concentrate." Said Alan from behind her, holding her shoulders. "Use that special spell of yours. The one you used on Nimb Town weeks ago. The Crystal Shower thing."
"C-Crystal Rainfall." Corrected Kristal, swallowing, being very afraid. "O-ok, I'll try it…"
And so, Kristal began channeling her aura, creating some pink spheres around her. After a few seconds, she was ready, and Alan looked to the redhead in front of them.
"Rubina! Get down!"
"CRYSTAL RAINFALL!"
The Sage of Lightning turned back, before getting on the ground, just before Kristal releases her technique. Hundreds of marble-size pink orbs flew fast and impacted on the Zombies in front of them. And since there were hundreds of those marbles, many of them hit the zombies in the head, immediately killing them, before the marbles hit the ones behind them, and so on and so on. After a few seconds, the whole hallway was cleared once again… and Kristal was extremely surprised.
"I… I did it?" Asked the blondie mage with confusion.
"Well done, Kristal!" Exclaimed Alan, patting her in the back. "You see you can do it?"
"… I did it!" She exclaimed, jumping with joy several times, forcing Alan to turn away because of some… bounciness.
"You only need a little push…"
"Hey, friend Alan." Started Rubina, calling the attention of both. "Do not think thiz iz over! More are comin!"
As Rubina said, Alan and Kristal saw that even more Zombies were running towards them.
"Damn, they are endless!" Exclaimed Alan, getting ready to fight, when Kristal took a step forward. "Kristal?"
"I'll take care of them!" Exclaimed Kristal, taking a step forward, surprising Alan.
"You're going to be ok?"
"Yes, don't worry. I now know I can defeat them, so I'll be fine. Besides…" She said, showing some anger in her face. "I have SO MUCH frustration I need to vent out."
Alan unconsciously took a step back.
'Damn, she really was mind blocked by her fear. Who would have guess she only need to face her fears… once?' Though Alan, laughing nervously, before getting serious. "I count on you!"
"Count on me, Alan!" Said Kristal, before igniting her aura. "Here I go!"
Kristal passed Rubina, and went on to fight the Zombie horde, using her magic to face them and disintegrate some of them. Rubina went back to Alan, while watching this.
"Me thought the blondie mage waz scared of zombiez." Commented Rubina with confusion.
"She just need a little motivation." Said Alan, before continuing hitting the wall. "Cover her in case she needs it. I'll try and destroy this wall."
"Sure, friend Alan!" Expressed Rubina, taking a few breaths to recover her energy.
Alan continued to hit the wall like before, and slowly he was chipping away more and more of that magic-enhanced wood. Rubina tried to help but her attacks were absorbed by the wood and actually restored some of it.
"Like I though." Said Alan. "This wood absorbs magic energy. The whole ship is protected, hence why our magic attacks did almost nothing."
"Then why yer Keyblade workz, friend Alan?" Asked Rubina.
"Keyblades dispel Darkness, or at least that is what I understand. This spell is made of darkness, so when the Keyblade hits it, it dispels some of it and I can damage the wood. At least that is my logic."
Alan continued hitting the wall, breaking more and more of the magic-enhanced wood, eventually making a large hole enough to almost let him pass.
"Are you done, Alan?" Asked Kristal, who was feeling tired. "As much as I like killing zombies, they are so many! I won't be able to hold for long!"
"Almost there!" Exclaimed Alan, hitting the wall more, and finally breaking it enough for them to pass. "Is done! Kristal, Ice spells!"
Kristal understood, and immediately used Blizzard spells to freeze the front zombies in place, creating a small wall so the rest of the zombies couldn't reach her. The blondie mage began running towards Alan, who was besides the hole in the wall, as Rubina was passing to the other side to see if it was empty.
"Hallwayz clear, friend Alan!" Exclaimed Rubina from the other side.
"Excellent! Let's go, Kristal!" Said Alan, seeing the blondie mage running towards him. He also saw that the Zombie wave was so big they shattered the bodies of the frozen ones and run towards her. "Damn it!" Said Alan, pointing his Keyblade towards Kristal and sending many Blizzard spells.
The Dark Magician Girl saw that Alan was shooting ice spells towards her and knew the Zombies were close, so she evaded the ice spells, and let them hit the zombies behind her, hindering their march. She reached where Alan was and immediately enter the hole in the wall, before Alan followed close by. The zombies reached the hole and were about to pass to the other side, when they were meet by ice spells, that froze the front zombies and covered the hole with ice.
Kristal and Alan used their ice spells to strength the ice already created by them, creating a large ice cube that blocked the way. After a few seconds, both began panting, trying to recover their breath.
"Glad you managed to overcome your Kinemortophobia, Kristal." Said Alan between breaths.
"My what now?" Asked the blondie mage in confusion.
"Fear of Zombies."
"I'm sure you just invented that word, Alan…"
"No, no. It is a word from my world to describe a fear of zombies. –Kine- meaning movement, -Morte- meaning dead, and -Phobia- meaning uncontrollable fear."
"Yer world is weird, friend Alan." Commented Rubina in confusion.
"I can say the same of this world. At least we don't have zombies… I hope…"
"So… now what?" Asked Kristal in frustration, having recovered some stamina. "We searched all this side of the ship and no clue of where this power source is."
"That means it's on the other side. We shall go and…"
-Flash!-
The three of them felt something, forcing their conversation to stop, as they all saw down the hallway.
"I may be wrong because I'm new with this feeling aura business…" started Alan in confusion. "…but that's Steve's Aura, right?"
"Yes, Alan." Answered Kristal, completely serious. "And his aura is burning to his limits, meaning he is fighting someone. Also, Master Duncan's aura is very low, and seems he is also fighting."
"Friend Alan! Yer friends are in danger!" Exclaimed Rubina. "We shallz go and help them!"
"Indeed! Kristal, Rubina, let's go!"
And with that, the three of them began running now to the front of the ship, to go and help their friends.
-Front of the ship. Twenty minutes later-
"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"
A shadow sphere hit several zombies and disintegrated them. However, more fill their places.
Dark Magician Duncan was surrounded. The large hall he was is, that was at least 4 floors high and with many aisles that connect with other hallways, was filled with Zombies, and even more were pouring from the said hallways in the second and third floors. He used his magic and quickly destroyed half of the Zombies with powerful lightning bolts that descended from orbs created by his magic, but even more Zombies arrived and fill the hall again.
"They are as endless as Heartless." Commented Duncan, panting, having used so much magic by now. "How many ships and crew did this ghost ship absorbed? Anyway, I won't be defeated by them!"
"Master Duncan!"
Looking up, Duncan saw that an explosion happened on one of the hallways from the fourth floor, sending zombies crashing into the floor. From there, 3 young figures jumped into the sea of Zombies. They were Kristal, Alan and Rubina, with the last one having her right fist covered in lighting and, the moment they hit the floor, she punched it, creating a powerful shockwave of lightning bolts around them, disintegrating all zombies close by. After that, Kristal used her magic and Alan his Keyblade to kill zombies while the three were running towards Duncan.
"I'm glad to see you are safe." Commented Duncan, seeing the 3 young ones creating a defensive stance around him.
"I can say the same to you, master!" Expressed Kristal, creating a Reflect shield to send flying the Zombies close to them.
"Where is Steve?" Asked Alan in confusion.
"He is inside the room." Pointed the older mage to the doors behind him. "I was right. Someone powerful is in there."
"Then we must help him!"
"No. I believe he will be victorious. We must have faith in him."
"Yeah, Steve won't die so easily." Commented Kristal, smiling to herself. "I believe in him."
"Then we hav to beat theze Zombies!" Exclaimed Rubina, getting her drum beaters and channeling lightning on them.
"Exactly!" Exclaimed Duncan, holding his staff firmly. "We need to believe in Steve, and stop any Zombie to get inside and cause a distraction to him. Get ready, everyone! Show me your training!"
"Yes, master!"
The Reflect shield created by Kristal disappeared, and the Zombies began their attack again. However, the heroes fought back against them, and managed to push them back to create a little space for them to move. The battle continued… and they could only hope Steve will be victorious.
-Music: The Fierce Battle (Final Fantasy V Arrenged Soundtrack)-
-Crystal Room-
"THUNDAGA!"
Several lightning bolts emerged from Steve's staff, trying to hit his enemy. However, the Zombie Captain, Earl of the Demise, turned into a shadow and moved across the room, evading the lightning strikes.
"You're not escaping from me!" Exclaimed Steve, as he moved his staff, that still was shooting lightning bolts, towards the moving shadow that was Earl, creating explosions across the room.
The shadow that was Earl evaded all the lightning bolts, before lunging towards Steve. The young mage managed to evade the shadow that almost hit him, and extended his left hand towards the shadow that was now behind him.
"BLIZZARA!"
A powerful Ice wind emerged from the mage's hand and impacted in the shadow, creating a large explosion of ice that froze everything on that side. Steve looked at it, trying to find if Earl was hit by it. For a few seconds, nothing seems to move, so it seem like he did hit it. However, a reflect in the ice show him it was empty. His eyes opened in surprise… as he felt the darkness behind him.
…and Earl emerged from the floor, his rapier surrounded in dark energy.
"DARKNESS STRIFE!"
He created many cuts with his blade in the air, and every cut created a crescent wave of dark energy flying towards Steve. The young mage turned back, just in time to raise his staff and create a Reflect spell around him, that managed to defend against most of the crescent waves of darkness that was about to hit him. However, it was slowly being destroyed, as the shield began to have cracks in it, that began to grow like cracks on glass, until the last two crescent waves of dark energy managed to overcome it, and hit Steve in his left arm and chest.
The young mage was pushed back several meters, before he managed to recover himself and stood firmly on the ground, looking at his enemy,
Steve's clothes were heavily damaged. His left shoulder pad was gone, and the right one was missing half of it. His robe had several holes in them, and his head gear was gone. He also had some blood on his skin. Sure, like Alan, he also had an Aura shield that protects him, but when the strike is too powerful, the shield of aura can only buffer some of the damage, and the rest can pass though, in this case damaging his clothes and his skin. Gladly, he didn't had any serious damage, like the stab wounds he got at the beginning of the right when he wasn't ready. That is why, even if his clothes looked very damaged, he was mostly fine.
"I see you are strong, mage…" said the Zombie Captain, Earl, floating in the air. "You manage to resist my attacks. I applaud you."
Earl's clothes were also damaged, but not on the same level as Steve. It means he hasn't been hit that much by Steve's spells, as a Zombie doesn't have an aura shield like a normal living one… unless it's a very powerful zombie. That is why they are so easy to kill, as they have no shield. But Earl does have one, although a weaker one. Instead, he uses shadows and his speed, and because of that, he hasn't been hit that much.
"Now I see why Lord Exus warned us about your group. I'm sure I would be no match for that Dark Magician on full power. But thankfully, my minions are enough to weaken you, so I could defeat you!"
"You're pathetic." Said Steve, smiling arrogantly. "You are so afraid to face us that you send your minions against us. And when you HAVE to fight one of us, in this case ME, you hide in the shadows and attack from behind. Coward!"
"You call it cowardice, but I call it strategy. I use my strengths to overcome my weakness, my lack of aura shield. Everything is allowed in a battle, mage. Because in the end, only one will leave this ship alive."
"… but you are already dead."
"… really? You just said that joke because I'm a Zombie? Glad to see you have a sense of humor, even when you are about to die."
"No… I mean it…" Said Steve, smiling with arrogance. "You are already dead."
"What?"
Steve looked at the room around him, covered in darkness, and only the dim light of the Zomboe Crystal given a very thin glow. He couldn't really see anything. Still, he was sure of himself… that he will win.
"I know your weakness, and what I need to do." Said Steve, his grin never leaving his face. "I will win this battle."
"Are you so sure? I will gladly remove that grin from your face!"
Earl then hided in the shadows once again, as it moved around the room, looking at Steve from many angles.
"You can't see me…" the voice of the Zombie Captain could be heard everywhere in the room. "You can't feel my energy. And you can hear my voice everywhere."
Steve stood still in the middle of the room. His eyes tried to follow the shadow that was Earl, but it was useless. He couldn't see the shadow in this dark room.
"Where will my next attack come?" said Earl, as his shadowy form formed behind Steve. "Shall I attack you from behind?" The shadow then moved in front of the mage. "Shall I stab your heart from the front, showing you I'm no coward?" Then, the shadow moved to the roof, looking at Steve below him. "Or maybe I should stab your brain from above and end you? From where? FROM WHERE?!"
Earl tried to scare Steve, to show him he had no chance in beating him, no matter what.
But Steve only grin again.
"Your games don't work with me, zombie. I already know how to beat you!" Expressed Steve, holding his staff firmly.
"Oh? And how do you plan to do that? Mage? Because if you can't stop me, then I will kill you!"
"I will reveal you AND stop you at the same time." Said Steve, getting on guard. "To reveal you, I shall dispel the darkness… with LIGHT!" He lifted his staff, releasing the spell in his mind. "SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT!"
-Music: Light World, Normal Battle (Final Fantasy Dimentions Soundtrack)-
Suddently, from the roof, twelve sword made of green energy formed and fall to the ground, stuck on the floor, and emanating an intense light that removed the darkness of the room. The shadow that was Earl stop immediately, as the intense light revealed his position, floating in front of Steve, several meters in the air.
"Ahh! Light!" Exclaimed Earl, grunting in pain as the intense light engulfed the room. "You bastard!"
"Told you." Said Steve, smiling arrogantly. "The shadows, your only defense against me, are no more. I won this battle!"
"Not yet! I haven't been defeated!"
"You said it yourself. As a Zombie, you have no aura, and so, no defense against attacks. Now that the swords are active, your movement is limited, and you can't hide in the shadows anymore. You are defeated."
"Never! I will cut you to shreds!" Exclaimed Earl, charging energy in his sword to launch his attack.
"No… you won't be able to do anything." Expressed Steve, while shadow lighting began charging on his staff. "To save everyone, I have to beat you… and that is what I'm going to do!"
"Enough, mage! Die! DARKNESS STRIFE!" Exclaimed Earl, sending several crescent shape waves of dark energy towards his opponent.
"This is a spell I made inspired in Master Duncan's Dark Plasma spell! And you will be the first one I will use against!"
Steve's staff was so charged with electricity that one can hear the current from afar, a sound similar to many electric plants when in operation and discharging electricity. It showed how much energy was in Steve's mage staff…that he will release in a moment.
"This is the end, Earl!" Exclaimed Steve, pointing his staff towards the Zombie Captain and his attack. "DARK VOLTAGE!"
A large ball of shadow electric energy emerged from Steve's staff, and flew fast towards his opponent. The lightning bolt impacted head on the crescent waves of darkness… and powered through them, destroying Earl's attack with ease.
"What?!" Exclaimed the Zombie Captain… before being struck by the electric attack. "Impossible! He is just a weak maaaggeee-!"
The attack pushed Earl against the Zomboe Crystal, hitting it with the remaining of its power. The lightning strike danced across the surfice of the crystal, creating cracks on the surfice. After a few seconds, the attack ended, Earl was no more… and the crystal shattered.
The Zomboe Crystal was no more.
-Music End-
Alan's energy was extremely low.
After fighting several hordes of Zombies and finding no end, he and his companions were almost exhausted. Heck, Alan's aura was on the border of collapse, and yet, the room was full of Zombies.
He had no choice… he'll probably have to use the Osiris card.
"Everyone… I'll have to summon the sky dragon." Said Alan in between heavy breaths, something that surprised everyone.
"Wait. Ar yer takin about lord Oziris?" Asked Rubina in confusion.
"I think we have no choice, right?" Asked Duncan, looking at their condition. Like Alan, he was extremely tired.
"He'll probably sink the ship, though." Mentioned Kristal. "But it seems we have no choice. My shield is almost out."
"I'm also out of energy. Ok, Alan, do it."
"Alright then! I'll summon os-"
Before Alan could finish, all the Zombies suddently stopped moving, their red eyes stop glowing, and then they fell into the ground, before turning into dust, surprising the group.
"uh… what?" Asked Alan in confusion.
Sapphire and Vivian saw as the Zombie that was about to attack them fell flat on the floor, and then disappeared into ashes. Looking around the whole of the ship, they saw other zombies began to disappear too, leaving the crew of the ship confused.
"What…what happen?" Asked Vivian in confusion.
Castanea, the Kuriboh, floated around the dust mound in the floor and poked it with her sword, before blowing it away.
"They are dead." Said Castanea. "DEADER than dead."
"Haha!" Exclaimed the captain Isabella. "Seems lil Rubina, the mages and the human managed to destroy the power source!"
Sapphire looked at herself, and she DID feel she was slowly getting her powers back. Vivian looked at her, and knew she was feeling the same.
"They did it!" Exclaimed Sapphire. "They did destroy the one doing the spell!"
However, their moment of joy stopped when they heard rumbles and strange noises coming from the ghost ship, that still has them trapped with their harpoons. They saw as what looked like spirits began leaving the ship, going up, as the ship began crumbling.
The ship was being destroyed.
Steve was running down the stairs. Just after destroying the Crystal, the whole ship began to rumble and shake, and the mage though correctly that the ship was sinking, so he quickly ran down to join his master. However, when he reached the door, he tried to open it…but it didn't move.
"What?" Asked Steve with confusion, trying to push the door to open it. "Oh no! It has a magic seal! I'm trapped!"
"The door won't open!" Exclaimed Kristal, after punching the door for the fifth time.
"It must have a seal." Said Duncan, thinking of what to do. "We don't have time! We need to get Steve out!"
"Let me punch it again!" Exclaimed Kristal, ready to strike… when Alan stopped her. "Ah? Why you stop me, Alan?"
The human didn't said anything. He just summoned the Chaos Keyblade and tap the door two times. Immediately, the seal was broken and the door began to open.
"Oh, right… Keyblade." Said the blondie mage, causing the human to smile.
After the doors open fully, Steve emerged from the room, only to see that Master Duncan wasn't alone.
"Hey girls!... and Alan." Expressed Steve, looking at the three people with his master.
"Steve! Are you ok?" Asked Kristal, worried about her friend.
"I'll be better if you give me a BIG hug!"
"Don't push it, Steve!"
"Sorry, force of habit. I'll try to change my ways now, Kristal."
The blondie mage arched an eyebrow in confusion.
"Did that enemy you were fighting hit you in the head or something?" Asked Kristal in confusion.
"No, it's just… I need to change. I'll tell you later."
"Well… that will be a BIG step forward, Steve."
"Still no promises."
"I'll make you fulfill this promise, Steve."
Before they could continue, the shook sook even more violently.
-Music: Enemy Attack (Final Fantasy X Soundtrack)-
"Oh boy! The typical cliché of the castle being destroyed as the evil lord is killed! FUN!" Exclaimed Alan sarcastically.
"No time for sarcasm, Alan! Let's get out of here!" Exclaimed Duncan. "Follow me!"
The group began to follow the Dark Magician, running across the hallways and getting up the stairs. The ship began to sank sideways, causing problems for the group who tried to get out. They managed to do get out and were now on the top deck, but saw the ship was listing hard to starboard, so they went to the port side of the ship, looking for their ship. They saw that the Trinidad Escarlata was close by.
"We need to jump!" Exclaimed Duncan.
"But we don't have enough aura!" Exclaimed Steve.
"Use your float spell when close to the deck to cushion your fall!"
Alan entered in panic mode. He KNEW he hadn't mastered the float spell enough, and in his low aura condition, he knew he won't be able to do it on time. He was about to say that it was better to jump into the water…when he saw the water.
The water close to the sinking ship had some purple coloration, and from that, what seem like spirits, trying to get out of water, like if they were people sinking, trying to stay afloat. Those must be spirits of the deceased inside the Ghost Ship, and something told Alan that, if he jumps into the water, those spirits will pull him down…so he decided not to do so.
"On three!" Exclaimed Duncan, causing Alan to look back at him. "One! Two! THREE!"
And so, the group of 5 jumped from the Ghost Ship into their own galleon. The mages managed to stay afloat a few meters above the deck, while the Thunder Nyan Nyan used her cat-like agility and resistance to fall on her legs, although they did shake a lot because of the tall jump.
Alan, however, didn't had that luck. Because of his inexperience with the float spell and depleted aura because of the constant fights, Alan failed to activate the spell. When he discovered that, he pushed all the remaining aura on his legs to cushion his fall…
But it wasn't enough…
He fell HARD on the deck, his left leg immediately giving in, breaking up on impact, causing him to fall face forward on the wooden floor and almost hitting his head.
"Damn it!" Exclaimed Duncan, after seeing the human fall that hard on the deck. He immediately descended and kneel besides him. "Alan! Are you ok!"
"Fuck! I think I just broke my leg!" Exclaimed the human. His face was covered in cuts from his fall, releasing some blood from them.
Duncan look at Alan's legs and saw that his left one was bend in an abnormal way. He knew that if he lifted the fabric of his pants on his leg, he'll see probably the bone against the skin.
Meanwhile, Isabella, as soon as she saw the group on the ship, immediately took control of the helm.
"Alright, ladiez!" Exclaimed the pirate captain, pointing at Vivian and Sapphire. "Yer friendz ar back! Use yer spells and letz get out of here!"
"Yes!" Exclaimed both girls, immediately using their spells over water and wind.
Soon, the Trinidad Escarlata began to move, and get away from the ghost ship. The souls of the damned that were on the water tried to grab the ship, but failed, and so the ship managed to escape.
Back on the deck, Kristal saw how Alan fell on the ground and was in shock. She didn't know what to do. She felt… afraid.
But then, she immediately knew she had to do something, so she run and kneel close to her master, and began using her Curaga spell… that it immediately failed.
"W-what?" Asked Kristal in confusion.
"We don't have much Aura, Kristal." Commented Duncan, who saw the face of incredulity of his student. "Your spell won't work. We need to recover first."
"But Alan is-!"
"You won't cure him as you are right now! Go and get an Ether from our room down below, drink it to recover some of your mana, and then come back here."
"O-Ok, Master!" Expressed the young blondie mage, who immediately run to their room down the deck. After a couple of minutes, she returned, now with her aura somewhat back. "I'm ready!"
"Ok." Said Duncan, before looking at the human. "Alan, this will hurt."
"Wha-? Why?" Asked Alan in pain, trying to contain himself from screaming.
"The Cure spell does in fact heal you, but when its broken bones, it will slowly try to accommodate it back in place. You will fell that."
"Ah… I see. Whatever, just do it!"
"Alright. Ready, Kristal?"
"Ready, Master!" Expressed the Dark Magician Girl, before grabbing Alan's broken leg as gently as possible. "Curaga!"
Alan open his eyes in surprise and pain, as what Duncan said was true: it hurt… and A LOT! He let out a very loud scream, as he didn't expect that, and it caused Kristal to flinch at it. She REALLY didn't like to see him hurt like that.
As Kristal was healing Alan's leg, the ship was getting away from the ghost ship, that was just sinking below the water.
However, as soon as that happen, a large explosion of energy occurred, and the shockwave hit the pirate ship like a truck. The shockwave also had what seem like spirits of the damned, that caused even more damage to the ship, and send some of the crew into panic.
Isabella had trouble keeping the ship in control, but after a few seconds after the shockwave passed, she regained control of the ship. Looking back, she saw the place where the Ghost Ship was, a large whirlpool being in its place, slowly getting smaller and smaller, while what looked like hearts slowly floating away in the sky.
The Ghost Ship was gone… and with it, the mist that covered them.
-Music End-
"We had survived, mates!" Exclaimed Isabella, causing the whole crew to cheer in joy.
However, one pirate who was on the bottom decks immediately exited from the stairs.
"Captain! The ship iz zinking!"
"What?!" Exclaimed Isabella with anger.
"Damn!" Expressed Steve. "The explosion must have caused damage on the ship! If we don't do something, we'll sink!"
Sapphire heard that and put her left hand over the floor. Immediately, everyone felt how the ship shook drastically.
"I managed to stop the sinking!" Exclaimed Sapphire, although her voice sounded like she was being stressed. "But I don't have that much aura. I won't be able to keep this for much longer!"
"Rubina! Get yer lazy ass and seek for land!" Exclaimed Isabella.
"Aye, captain!" Answered the red-haired girl, jumping on the mast and into the Crow's Nest. She looked everywhere for a few minutes… before she saw something. "Land on sight, Captain!"
"Good! Let's go there!"
And so, the ship began sailing towards land, and fast, as Sapphire's power was slowly depleting. However, when they got closer, they could see that the land was a port city… a large city… one that the crew and some mages knew very well.
"It can't be!" Exclaimed Duncan with surprise.
"What? What's the matter, master?" Questioned Steve in confusion.
"That city…is the port city of Nibawen."
"The Port City of Nibawen? What city is that?"
"What?!" Exclaimed Isabella in surprise. "The port city of Nibawen iz well known as one of the biggest port cities in the world! But that city… that city is in the Ritsma Continent, right?"
"…it is… which means… we ARE in the Ritsma continent."
The group felt silent, as they didn't know what to do, not believing it was true.
But it was… the group was on the coasts… of the Ritsma Continent.
End of Chapter 20
-Music: Jikai Yokoku (Digimon Tamers Soundtrack)-
Chapter 21 Preview:
Alan: Hello! Alan here! Damn! Having a broken leg SUCKS. At least is healing fast because of the Cure Spell. Now that we are in this Continent...what should we do?
Duncan: This is bad. We are in the wrong continent, far away from our destination. Still, there are thing to do in here. We shall rest.
Don't miss the next chapter of The N-Warriors: Shadow Realm Saga: A Sisterly bond.
Steve: Hey girls, did you know Alan loves BIG boobs?
Girls: W-What?!
Alan: Damn it, Steve!...also, who is that busty blondie who just came here? and...why is she hugging me?
Author Notes:
And another chapter is DONE!
So the ghost ship is gone, sink into the Ocean. No Kraken, so Alan didnt had to get angry at it.
Also yeah, Alan is NOT invulnerable...yet. With the Aura he has, he can jump from the ghost ship into another one, a distance of probably 4 or 5 floor high, and land on the deck just fine. However, with almost no aura, his body is as fragile as a human one, so a fall that large CAN kill him. This is to show that everyone is still fragile; it's just their aura and aura shield that protects them. I did have this scene on the original version, and said that sicne Alan had almost no aura because of all the fight, he ended gravely injured too.
It also show that cure spells, and other spells, dont work well with no aura. There are times when a person with no aura will use a powerfull spell or attack, but that is because they probably used all of his aura reserves or exchanged his life force, reducing his life expectancy, for that attack.
And well, Steve defeated Earl. It was a short battle, sure, but it showed he can think of solutions for his problems. The Ghost Ship had caught HUNDREDS of vessels, and their crew and some of the wreckage was added to it, hence why this ship was Titanic-sized compared to a Galleon-size ship like the Trinidad Escarlata one. Oh well, at least it's no more.
And yes, the heroes arrived ad Ritsma Continent. Now this is a new one, because in the older version of the fic, the heroes NEVER visited the third continent, Ritsma. It only were the contients of Asgan and then Betan, but never the third one. On Ritsma are the new but already broken crystals of Ice and Lightning, so there was no point of visiting it. The group wont stay much in here, but it was a suprise for them.
Now, I have to make an announcement. It's probably that, because of the quarantine, by May I wont be uploading as much.
"But Saiyan! You stay at home during the quarantine! You have so much time to write!"
Yes, that is true. However, since I'm at home, I will take more time to play some games, as I have many left that I havent done, and will continue drawing. I actually write on my job (when I have time, as my job of repairing PCs and Laptops give me so much free time in there, so I use it to write), but with me on home, I will concentrate on other things.
You dont have to worry for a while, though. I already have until chapter 25 and starting the 26 right now. This one is chapter 20, so you have probably a month and a half before the fic reaches me. THIS is why I like to have some chapters already done, to have some extra in case of this situations. I will continue uploading every monday, until futher notice.
Anyway, I hope you are safe at your homes, and I'll see you next week, hopefully.
See ya next time!
-SaiyanX logged off!-
