Chapter 27


The Gungan burst through the bubble wall. Staggering into a dark back way, where there he collapsed against a metal frame. Panting and with bloodied hands he clutched the sphere. Screaming out as sear after sear of pain rocketed throughout his brain.

The cursed Shul was far stronger than he'd expected. What she lacked in experience she excelled in sheer will power.

The Mersai would not be happy.

Leaning his head back on the frame the Gungan caught his breath, trying to push away the pain as he let his mind sort through the booty.

He looked as if to be a merchant of some kind, so skinny and decayed that it seemed that he should have been dead. The Gungan ran a bony hand down his arm, letting the old skin flakes peel away. His body was beginning to feel the effects of the aged again. He needed to rejuvenate. The Shul could wait, for he had the ultimate weapon now. It didn't matter where she ran to, so long as he had the sphere it would lead him to her. And no matter how strong her will. She would never be able to contend with that of the Mersai.

The Gungan slowly rose to his feet again, seeking out the best route out of the city and back to his ship. After he was well again, he would find the Shul.


"So you're saying that you hate the Ankura?" Adia questioned.

"No I did not say that we hate them. It's just that we don't exactly have dealings with them."

Adia and Julian sat comfortably in a much more elaborate version of a Gungan Sub. The Bongo was on auto-pilot and to each side of them four other, smaller subs escorted them around the masses of bubble that made up the city of Otoh Gunga. It was truly mystifying in a way but also brought back bad memories to Adia. It was that reason that she'd avoided ever travelling in them until now.

But this time seemed different. Someone who probably, still resided in that city was out to get her. She could feel him there somewhere. Adia didn't know how or why, but she just could.

Her mind still felt somewhat clouded, she still got the occasional flash of an image that seemed completely alien to her, but the thudding had ceased.

Her most recent image flash was that of a grassy landscape that overlooked a giant, stone monument of some kind. But that like all other flashes had disappeared just as quickly as it came.

It made Adia wonder if she really was going insane.

"If you don't have dealings with the Ankura then why was my mother and I sent to Gren? Why is Er Shua living in Otoh Gunga? Why were you born there? Doesn't that give you at least some sort of an Ankuran heritage?"

"Hold on!" Julian waved a hand. "One question at a time! You and your mother were sent to Gren because we had no other choice! And my father, well he was assigned to Otoh Gunga. And just because I was born there, it doesn't mean that I'm Ankuran! My mother isn't Ankuran, she just lives under the Ankura rulership."

Adia gave him a sceptical look. "What makes you believe that she isn't Ankuran?"

Julian replied to the sceptical look with a cold glare. "Because my father would never marry an Ankuran."

"Righto!" A voice called through the intercom. "This is as far as we are taking you."

"Thank you." Julian replied, seeing them off.

An uneasy feeling suddenly came over Adia as she realized that they were now entirely on their own.

"Do you know where you are going?" she asked nervously.

"Sort of." Julian said, overriding the auto-pilot.

Adia was silent for a moment until Julian settled back down and began to steer the sub.

"You know, my mother couldn't, for the life of her, work out how to override the auto-pilot." She gave an unsteady chuckle that cracked.

Julian smiled at her warmly as she sat on the edge of her seat.

"I'll steer carefully."

He pulled back throttles causing both the sub and Adia's stomach to lurch downward.

"You do realize that I have a known phobia of these submarines!" she squealed, trying to avoid passing out.

"Sorry." Julian vainly attempted to hold back an amused smirk. "It's just that we've got to travel down quite deep."

"How deep?" Adia murmured.

"Into the planet core."

"What?!" Adia nearly leapt out of her seat. "Do you know of the dangers that lurk there?! There are huge monsters in the planet core! We'll get eaten alive!"

Julian laughed, only making Adia more furious.

"And have you ever seen these core monsters, Adi?"

"No!" Adia spat. "But with good reason. I hear that once you see a monster and it sees you. You basically become lunch."

Julian chuckled again, "Well I'll try to avoid making you lunch then, Adia."

Adia huffed, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat. She hated the feeling of not being in control.

All around them there was nothing but a murky darkness that seemed to choke the sub's headlights. It made Adia feel as if the walls were pressing her in.

"Are you okay, Adi?" Julian noticed her anxiety.

"Fine," Adia snapped, fidgeting with her hands. "Never felt better."

She tried diverting here eyes away from the outside but couldn't in fear of something being there.

"The reefs are nice." Julian pointed, trying to start up conversation again.

He steered the sub's headlights to one of the mighty walls and in an instant it lit up in a vast array of bright colours. In amongst the corals were multitudes of fish that reflected colours of their own making Adia want to gasp. It looked like a smaller version of Otoh Gunga.

"This is truly amazing." Adia whispered. "I have never seen anything like it."

"These are our guides. You will find that the deeper we go, the corals will become darker and sparser."

Adia hummed with interest keeping a watchful eye on the walls. And sure enough, after several minutes she began to notice the change.

"How do you know all of these things?" she asked.

It took a couple of moments of Julian thinking before he finally shrugged.

"Was something I learnt as part of my tutoring I suppose."

Adia opened her mouth to say more when a sudden movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"Did you see that?" she hissed glaring intently into the darkness.

Julian swivelled the headlights but they only revealed the black entrance of an adjoining passage.

"I think it went in there." Adia murmured, shifting in her seat.

Julian scrunched his eyes, biting his lip.

"I think I know you well enough to trust you on that statement. We are not near enough to the core to meet the Guide."

"The what?" Adia squawked.

Julian shook his head.

"Never mind."

Obviously apprehensive, he slowed the sub to a steady drift. Dimming the lights to a tiny slither. He moved over to the closest wall where he hid the bongo in amongst the reefs.

"What are you doing?" Adia hissed but Julian hushed her, pointing.

Adia spotted the movement again. She was sure now, there was something there. She squinted, trying the best she could to spot something through the darkness.

The monster's sudden emergence made Adia jump back screaming.

"It's a Colo Claw Fish! It'll eat us!"

Julian slammed a hand down on Adia's knee to hush her.

"It won't eat us if you stay quiet!"

That shut her up completely as both Gungans stared in awe at the giant Monster.

As if in dance it's long, tentacle like body spiralled and twisted around the giant pillar like rocks that blanketed the cave.

And then another, smaller monster appeared. As if to mimic the bigger it followed in its path. The two twisted and twirled around one another, making a game of it.

"She's with a child." Julian gasped amazed by the spectacle. "I have never seen a baby Colo." He gave Adia a wide smile. "It is no wonder they're called the dancers of the sea."

For what seemed like an age they danced until finally the monsters disappeared back into the darkness where they'd come from.

Julian waited a little longer to ensure they didn't choose to return before heading the bongo back onto its journey further into the planet.

It took Adia longer still to eventually settle back down again. She rested back into her seat and rubbed her hand, eyeing off her skin stain- the sign of her commitment to a group that no longer existed. It was well worn and faded with years now. But still, it deemed as a permanent reminder of the life she'd had as an outcast.

"We're almost there." Julian spoke, snapping Adia's head upright.

At last the Bongo emerged from the tunnel system into a massive underwater clearing.

Adia sighed, relieved at the prospect of finally getting out of the submarine.

But short lived was her relief as from somewhere behind, what seemed like a giant wall washed past them. Thrashing the bongo about in the undertow, its inhabitants lurched forward, Julian cursing as he hit his chin on the throttles.

"What the..?" was all Adia managed to squeal before; the massive beast loomed before them in a mighty storm of bellows and hoots.

Adia felt all the colour drain from her skin, she wanted to scream but her voice had vanished down her windpipe.

"You are here!" Julian bellowed, giving Adia a reassuring look. "Don't worry, he's just here to greet us."

Adia choked up her voice,

"That thing is a friend?"

As if to notice Adia's alien presence, it trailed over to the sub as to inspect it. All Adia could see was the creature's massive jaws that far exceeded their insignificant size.

"It's impossible. What is it?"

"Sando Aqua Monster," Julian answered. "He is our guardian, guide for the remainder of the journey."