Chapter: Chapter : Clash of the Nautili
Chapter Author: Beck2
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The Nautilus tipped crazily to the side as The Aurelius caught its back left and hoisted it clear out of the water. The grinding metal was deafening, and the citizens of Naples looked upon the two dueling sea powers with a mix of wonder of fascination. The Nautilus's nose sank dangerously in the water, with the imminent threat of being thrown onto its back a clear possibility.
But the Nautilus was not the only one having problems. The added weight on the middle of the Aurelius prevented it from resurfacing completely, and the metal of it's hull was being torn like sheets of paper.
It was a terrible struggle. Everyone was transfixed by the battle between the two ships, of which there was only one outcome.
No one saw the figure fall from the tall tower of the Nautilus.
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"Bloody hell." Gilly whispered as he saw the ships in the water.
"My god!"
"What are they doing?"
"Don't they have any decency?" Some outraged, some confused, some even awed voices rang out around him. None of them seemed to grasp the fact that this wasn't exactly a great place to be.
Clunky whimpered and started forward. Gilly looked down, confused. "What's with you boy?"
He simply looked at the water and whined.
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Jekyll grabbed the railing and gritted his teeth as the ship rocked violently. The room was beginning to slant, and objects were sliding across the floor, not to mention some crewmembers.
"Why are we caught?" Mina yelled over to Captain Nemo. Captain Nemo was grimly holding onto the railing, trying not to tumble into the wall.
"The Watch tower of the Aurelius has caught us, My Lady cannot detach herself."
"The Watch Tower?"
Let me out, Henry, I can take care of it.
"Edward."
Mina looked at him quizzically, then realized who he was talking to.
No buts Henry. It's the only way, you know that. Besides, if I'm beating the opposite side, who cares?
He supposed he couldn't argue with that logic. He climbed his way back up to the entrance and set out for the hatch that led to the deck. He could have sworn he hear Mina calling after him, but she didn't follow, so he couldn't tell.
The way was long, and hazardous. Boxes and other heavy things came tumbling down the tilted hallways. Many of these things seemed hell bent on hitting him.
He managed to reach his destination, and shoved the door open with all of his strength. He stumbled out of the ship and grabbed the guard railing. Taking out a small vial he carried, just for something like this, he uncorked it, and hesitated. It made him sick to know that he had the foresight to place the vial into his pocket. Had it come to the point where this horrific monstrosity had become so commonplace.
But that could be agonized over later, he realized, as the ship lurched and tilted more. He downed the vile tasting liquid in one gulp, and shuddered as the changes wracked his body.
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"More energy! I won't be beaten! Get the rockets ready!"
"More energy may overload the engines!"
"More energy!" Orick roared. He knew the ship could take it. He had looked over the designs of the incredible engine. The hull would fall off before the engine failed.
"Rockets are ready! Scatter rounds have been loaded, waiting for your orders!"
"Sir! Reports of some sort of monster on our ship!"
"Monster? Lower the telescope!" The said apparatus slid down, and he seized the handles and looked through the lens. At first he saw nothing, but as he rotated the scope, he saw a blurry large shape intent on destroying his Watch Tower.
"Who reported?"
"Some of the soldiers checking the hull guns."
"Tell them to shoot it." He ordered. The crew members hastened to obey.
Things were going all wrong. He had made mistakes. But soon, everything would be made right. Soon, there would only be one ship that governments everywhere would fear and respect.
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A light pain into his shoulder caused him to snort in agitation. Swinging around, he saw a couple of brave souls standing their ground, guns raised. He grinned maliciously ans started lumbering towards them. They cocked the guns and prepared to shoot, but he ran forward and swept them off the ship like so much trash.
"Pathetic. Not much sport in this."
Remember the objective, Edward.
"I remember Henry. Don't pester me." He returned to his task. Grabbing the tower around the base, he strained against it, seeking to push it over with an inhuman act of strength. The Nautilus was already helping, the weight making the tower groan like a dying animal. He only need to give a little push, and the Nautilus would slide off into the sea like a good little ship.
Perhaps a little push wasn't quite as accurate as it should have been.
Keep going Edward! You can do this, I know you can!
With Jekyll mentally cheering him on, Hyde pushed against the tower with all his might. There was a deafening screech of metal and he quickly let go and stumbled back. The tower that had caught Nemo's pride and joy fell from the Aurelius and crashed into the sea. The Nautilus cut large rips into the Aurelius's hull as it fell from it's bonds back into the sea.
The Aurelius bucked and shot up in the water, relieved of the intense weight holding it down. Hyde made a desperate grab onto some railing that was none too sturdy and held on as the Aurelius crashed back down. Not far away, the Nautilus had regained its poise and was circling hard to get its guns locked onto the Aurelius.
I believe its time we left, Edward.
"They've ruined my fun. Well, there's always Naples." Before Jekyll could protest, Hyde dove from the ship into the water.
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"Prepare to fire the rockets!"
"Yes Captain!" the crewmember hastened over the fallen furniture and instruments to get to his station. Nemo gritted his teeth. It would take several days to fix his beloved ship. He was not happy.
"They did it." Mina seemed to be in awe. "They freed the Nautilus, but where are they?"
"They are smart enough to take care of themselves. We must worry about the battle at hand!" Nemo said sternly.
"Right." Mina nodded. "I'll go check the Medical bay, I assume we will have injured."
He nodded curtly and never let his eye stray from his enemy once. There was no telling what Orick would do if he found himself to be outgunned.
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"Little do they know, they've done me a service. Fire the scatter round!" Orick roared.
"Yes sir!"
The ship rocked a little as the rockets were deployed. There were only two of them.
He watched with drawn breath. These rockets were his pride and joy, they would take care of all of his problems. He watched with anticipation as the Nautilus loosed some rockets of its own, aimed for he ones he had deployed.
Perfect.
"Sir! They've fired a missile at us! It's headed right for us!"
"Hard to port! We have to get out of its way!" He cried out hoarsely as the crewmembers dove to their tasks, not out of respect, but self-preservation.
"We're not going to make it!" Came the shrill scream of a frightened crewman.
"Must you be so defeatist?" He growled as the missile sped toward them.
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"Sir! Our anti-rockets have met the target!"
"And?"
"They appear to have been destroyed…wait…numerous targets are coming straight for the ship! They're scattering, we can't lock on!"
"Brace for impact!" Nemo roared. "Submerge the Nautilus!"
There wouldn't be enough time, they all knew, but rarely did they question the man that weathered them through so many storms.
Offering up a small prayer to Kali, Nemo watched as the rockets fell.
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Well, that was an action packed chapter if I do comment so myself. Sorry for not updating, I was sidetracked, but at least it wasn't as long as the last time, hmm?
Asteria: I don't know either, but I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Silent Bob 546: Wow, I'm glad you put so much emotion into your reviews, it's really great! Thank you very much!
Clez: Too true. In the LXG universe, anything can happen. One of my favorite universes. I'm glad you liked the chapter, thank you!
Steffi-333: Oh, I'm sorry for giving you an attack, but I'm glad everything is better! Thank you very much, I think that chapter was one of my best. I hope you like this chapter as well!
Niani: I'm sorry. But thank you very much!
Chaotic Dreamer: Thank you very much!
Fritz Will Get You: Thank you very much, and I hope you like this chapter!
Please leave your comments on the way out!