Well, the sea still tastes the same here, Tara thought to herself as she appeared back in the prehistoric era via the Asterite's transmission, carrying within her song its missing globe. Hopefully Kitnee still survives. If he does...Delphineus have mercy.
She was back in the bay where the Asterite's past self lived. Far in the distance on the beach she could perhaps hear Kii and his family singing thoughtfully over the ocean, their future home. But Tara had no time to listen to the songs of the past...she had to help save her future.
Echoing softly around the coral and slowly past the ancient Hungry Ones, it was easy to find the Asterite's home. She could still hear weak moans from inside the rock, courtesy of the larval Vortex Queen. Hopefully she hadn't matured yet.
The young Singer took a deep breath from the surface and carefully maneuvered her body between the rock crevices. The Asterite was still somewhat in one piece, though the double helix rotated slowly; Tara could literally feel weakness and faltering from the great entity. Its power could barely keep the Vortex larva inside its electric prison.
She sang quietly. "Asterite, I have brought your globe back...where is Kitnee, do you know?"
The Asterite's reply was slow. My...globe...
Tara sang again, and the globe materialized back into its empty space within the double helix. Just as soon, a surge of electricity surged through the waters surrounding the Asterite and Tara. Her body was shocked, paralyzing her fluke. But what came to her great relief was the form of the Vortex queen, its transparent hull showing its organs blasting apart, the heart slowing, the brain desperately beating faster to keep it alive. The creature was released from the helix, left to float helplessly with the tide.
The Asterite, its health returned full, spoke again. The Queen won't die; she is just terribly weakened. But I could sense great doubt in her mind...by now she has decided instead to integrate with life on Earth, to live as these creatures do.
Tara could almost hear her lungs crying desperately for air. Her fluke couldn't move her, so she just stood staring partly at the awesome Asterite and partly at the electricity burns on her flank.
So, this is how it ends...she thought as she closed her eyes. She didn't feel the Asterite's powers give her air and heal her wound, sense the great shadow of an Orca gently pulling her by her stiff tail out of the rock crevice.
Ecco dodged and wove violently in-between the Vortex queen's giant clawed appendages. His sonar kept missing its aim, which was the back of her neck, in order to separate her head from its body. Only then could he blind her, disable her jaw, and finally ram her head into the machine where it could be crushed once and for all.
Strike! A swift blow from his sonar snapped the Queen's neck, releasing the head from the grasp of the great body. It sank to the bottom of the chamber, and Ecco swam up to face her.
He gathered a powerful blast of sonar, preparing to administer the dizzying blow of death. "To hell with you..."
But then, suddenly, everything everywhere stopped. The queen's head just disappeared into thin air, along with her corpse, before Ecco could release his song. In place of the great evil was a clean sea, his surroundings slowly morphing from the horrifying reality of slavery and death to life, love, and sentience.
Kitnee appeared before him, no longer a nightmarish half-Vortex Orca, but his old self. "Ecco...the timeline is shifting...this future is ceasing..."
Then he saw Kone and Hunju, along with all of the other weakened dolphins, next to him as well. Kone smiled. "Thank you, Ecco...I see now you are our savior..."
Slowly, the scenery warped from machinery back to nature. The Vortex drones withered and died from sight, leaving beautiful creatures from Earth's own seas: sharks, dolphins, whales, and fish. The harsh images disappeared, and in its place was a song that seemed much more powerful than the Caller's Song, or the song of the Asterite that manipulated time itself. This song filled his mind, his heart, his body, and his soul with both fear and respect.
{Go back to where you belong, Ecco. This timeline is now sealed again.}
He was left floating over a beautiful ocean, glancing over silvery shapes that darted in an out of the water excitedly as he descended. He saw his proud mother, the relieved faces of his entire pod, the wisdom that seemed to come from Radero, Enuia, and Lonus.
Home Bay...
I must be dead...
And so he closed his eyes as he settled in the warm, familiar sea, accepting his fate.
"Owww..."
"You know, Tara, if you would have just swam out of that crevice instead of staying there and getting electrocuted, it wouldn't hurt when you try to swim."
"Be quiet, Kitnee." The banter went on like that as Tara and her good friend maneuvered through the time stream, navigating back to Home Bay.
"Fine, fine," the Orca chuckled, "but I just don't want to hear your usual complaining when you're hurt like that."
She slapped her fin against his broad side in mock anger. "I do not complain!"
"Oh? I seem to remember a young Singer who got stung once by a small jellyfish. She complained for five days."
Tara rolled her eyes. "I was young and foolish back then, Kitnee." She then smiled at him and laughed. "Good gods, am I glad to have you back, old friend."
"I'm glad to be back, Tara. I only want to be an indestructible killing machine to fish and seals. Never to fellow Singers."
She laughed again, then sighed in relief as they arrived back in the familiar waters of Home Bay. It was night, and the moon was much larger than usual, which reminded both of them not to waste time.
They swam around the coral and rock face, singing for signs of the pod. They finally received back friendly and happy responses, as the entire pod rushed to greet them. All that is, except for Ecco's mother and Lonus's family.
And, Tara found before anyone else, Ecco as well. He was being supported at the surface by the others, his bleeding wounds kept safe from the scent of Hungry Ones. She broke away from Kitnee and quickly raced to his aid. "Hm," Kitnee mused to himself; "It seems she's all right after all."
Ecco's mother smiled as she saw Tara slowly approach, mindless of her injuries. She let a part of Ecco's nearly lifeless body limp for Tara to hold up. It took five minutes of gentle songs from his family to open his eyes again.
"Ugh...where am I?"
Tara smiled and nuzzled gently at his head. "You're home, Ecco."
He looked up in surprise, suddenly swimming away from the others. He leaped above the surface of the water, landing with a perfect belly flop back on the surface.
Tara and the others looked at him curiously. "Ecco?"
He stared back, then chuckled. "By the gods...I AM home!" He took another excited leap above the surface, this time ending face-to-face with Tara's angry look as he slammed back down.
"You're being just slightly delirious, Ecco, even for you. Where exactly were you?"
His excited mood suddenly turned serious as he sighed and glanced back up into the sky.
"Tell me!" she angrily called again. Kitnee swam next to her, also regarding his old friend with curiosity.
His worried gaze met hers. "I will tell you. But first, please tell me of how everything was on your side."
After a couple of hours searching and singing through darkness, Trellia and the Glyph Caller finally found themselves back in Trella Bay, where everything began. To Trellia's great relief, her family and many other pods of Sky Singers were gathered over the beaches of the bay. She also recognized a large mass of Orca patterns below her; the Sky Killers were converged in this one bay, busily defending it against strange masses of creatures the likes of which she had never seen.
They were as dark as shadows, and even shifted like them. There was no one shadow creature she could recognize in shape, for they always changed into something else. Often they grew longer and slicker, and often more they grew hard like armor with spikes or bludgeons for tails. Their eyes were blood red, and so were their teeth. More were converging on the spot from inside the crimson fog, but were matched by the awesome strength of Orca jaws and flukes that slammed with the force of a mace that was ten feet in diameter and hurtling at a speed of 200 miles per hour.
Trellia charged in to help, earning her shocked and amazed looks from her family. While the other Sky Killers kept busy defending the bay, Teo met her with his usual arrogance, mixed with the surprise that he held back. "You're back I see, Jewel Brow. Did I not tell you that you may trust us?" He smirked, the great black sail on his back seeming taller and more intimidating with the Orca's great size than ever before.
Trellia laughed and nodded. "I apologize for doubting your word, Teo. Before you eat me, though, may I ask what happened here?"
He nodded in reply, then glanced behind her, noticing the large dolphin. "Who is this?"
"He is the Glyph Caller, the one Ecco and I were charged to awaken. He holds the power to help with this problem. Now please, tell me what has happened after we left."
"Right. Well, as I promised, I released each of my Sky Killers to the other bays, whilst I introduced myself to your family. I am proud now to hold the last power of song amongst us, because without it I would not have gained their trust. Each night I closely watched as that...thing...in the sky grew larger and spread further. Finally, one night, it finally touched the other horizon, and the fog all at once hit the earth. The oceans shook and the tides roared, destroying the Sky Tides, all of them. These strange creatures invaded the sea from above in the sky. Within minutes the ocean became a seething mass of mess, death, and decay. We lost some dolphins that were merely swimming when it happened.
"I recalled the Sky Killers and they herded the other pods here to this bay, the largest of all, and we tried to defend them. But the sharks, the fish, the Medusa, all creatures were suddenly possessed. They targeted innocent sentient creatures, namely the dolphins. On top of that, as soon as we saw the last of the Glyphs shatter and lose its power forever, we saw the cause behind the cloud."
Trellia edged closer. "What was the cause?" But the Glyph Caller caught Teo's sad gaze.
He closed his eyes, slowly shaking his massive black head. "It was hard to believe for us as well...but I am certain it was your Tiderider."
Tara finished telling the entire story of their trip, from gathering the Glyphs, meeting the Land Singers, and finally the rescue of Kitnee from his own predator's mind. Tara's voice seemed to falter with sadness when she approached the end to her tale. The story left Ecco in a stupor...of course, the Kitnee in the Vortex dimension was right. Had it not been for Tara, this would have been the true future instead. And thanks to a small twist of fate, the future was again sealed.
All the Singers of Ecco's pod were hanging on the outskirts of their conversation. This will have been the greatest challenge yet for their hero, and many were now even starting to doubt whether he would save them or not. Ecco's mother was most hurt with worry in her heart; her own son was destined to be the hero. Her own young, adventurous calf had grown up so.
Ecco sighed softly and glanced about the group, of which he was seated at the epicenter. In front of him was Tara--his best friend and podmate. His gentle eyes were locked on hers as she finished her story, head hanging down in sadness. Behind her, the massive form of Kitnee the Orca also listened. Lonus, Enuia, and Radero hung beside them, near the Asterite.
"By Delphineus..." Ecco sang softly, "I never stopped to realize how an entire strand of time depends on but a single event...a singular change." He smiled and lifted Tara's head with his beak so he could look straight into her eyes. "Tara, you've proven yourself to be a great ally. Just as well that a podmate of mine would have instincts as powerful as my own."
Tara smiled, and for a moment was caught up in a powerful surge of emotion. She was never happier than this moment...for Ecco, her Ecco, was here, alive. "I could never match your courage, Ecco, no matter how much I try," she chuckled and nuzzled him softly, chirping in a simple Delphine song of happiness. "But now, you must answer me. Just where were you? And no swimming around the rock, I must know." She backfinned from him a little bit and turned to the crowd behind her and surrounding them. "They must know."
The young dolphin said nothing more, but simply stared, awaiting her answer. Kitnee chirped and added, "Tell me what you have seen, my friend." Radero watched Ecco closely with anticipation, fear, and a very grown-up respect. Lonus, Enuia, and the rest of the pod became dead silent. A mass of white crystals, Glyphs gathered by Lonus and his family, floated nearby, their energy of pain emitted and felt by all. Ecco sighed, closing his eyes and dipping his melon.
"Fine then, my friends. But I warn you, all of you, what you will hear is just as painful as what I have seen."
So he told them the entire story. Of finding ancient Atlantis with Trellia, arriving at the exact moment the Glyph Caller's song intercepted with the Vortex armada, sealed his body and soul in separate crystals, and left the city in ruins. Ecco told of when he separated with Trellia and ended up thrown into the Vortex future world. He told of meeting the Singers, who were reduced to nothing more than slaves and a food source. He told of the Killer Beasts, which made Kitnee's eyes tear at what his future may have been.
"So," Ecco concluded later, "I am only glad to return to my time once more. But the problem still arises of Trellia's world...the entity, or whatever it is, that is the incarnation of the ripped spaces of time, and that is connected with the Glyphs." Ecco looked around. "Where is she now?"
Trellia is back in her time now, the Asterite answered, She believes you are far gone from her help, and wishes to combat the problem on her own. As for the rest of us, there is hope. I have directed the songs from Atlantis. Right now, scores and scores of Singers are coming this way. With their help, and with yours, we are going to finish what the great Glyph Caller did long ago. All we need now is for synchronization between the times in which I exist: Past, present, and future. Trellia, Tiderider, and the rest of the others in her time have that job. Kii and his family have the part of helping my past self. As for us, all we require is your help once more, and now for good, Ecco.
Ecco smiled. "Perfect, then. Asterite, I accept...it is time that the tri-dimensions were finally closed and upon a linear path, once and for all!"
The others sang in unison, echoing glimmers of hope across the seas. The great whales heard them, and imitated the song. News spread to the far reaches of the globe. Ecco was back, and it was time for his last mission.
Excellent, then. We still have some spare time to prepare, so I suggest that you and your family and friends spend these next two hours with one another, and renew old bonds. We need the best of hope now.
"A good idea," Lonus answered and glanced to Enuia and Radero, "I have wished for long to spend time with my long lost family."
Ecco nodded, and the members of the pod parted their separate ways. Kitnee headed to the front of Home Bay, waiting to greet his own pod. After a moment, only Ecco, his mother, Tara, and the Asterite were left with their thoughts.
After some reassurance from his mother, Ecco turned to go his own way as well, seeking complete solitude from the others. Then, just as if he had a thought, he glanced back. "Tara, come with me," he smiled. With a dolphin's trademark grin, she followed.
Trellia's body was frozen with disbelief. The only thing that she felt right then was her heart pounding hard and fast against her rib cage. "Tiderider..." she stuttered, "No...It CAN'T BE!" she shouted, "He's not the cause, he's too pure! He just cannot..."
Teo clacked his teeth. "Stay your tears, Jewel Brow. Even when a soul seems purest, there is still something in him to take over. I know not how or why it could have happened, either, but you have to focus! It's time for your decision, Jewel Brow. Remember my story? A majority over one, your world versus the true world. What will you choose?"
"That's enough, Teo" the Glyph Caller gently relayed, "This Tiderider happens to be a scion of my blood. He simply needs to be reminded of why this darkness has him captive. His dormant powers have the ability, through the Atlanteans' lost legacy, to bring peace back to the world. Coupled with the blood of a defender of time," he indicated Trellia, "There is nothing they cannot do."
Teo growled, his eyes giving off an almost otherworldly glare. "You forget one factor, Singer: the Asterite. Can you not feel it, the way his energy is no longer felt in this sea of blood? He is dead. Without the Asterite, whose powers keep in tune with the Glyphs and time, there is no possible way we can fix this! The dimensions of time for this planet are as good as destroyed."
"We must try!" Trellia broke in, silencing the both of them. "Listen. Throughout my life, I have never lived in fear. This era is a paradise...the Earth was no longer hurting. Teo, I agree with your words, but you must understand something. I have heard, every minute, throughout everything I have done, that Tiderider's line is one of the immortals. His song has the power to destroy time, or seal it again. The Asterite, even if he is dead, there is still something left of him. And we have no time to find it." She glared at both of them, finally matching the determination of her ancestor, the great hero.
"Everything happens for a reason. There must be a reason we are all alive now, debating and wasting time. There must have been a reason I just freed the ancient Glyph Caller from his slumber. And there must have been a reason that I have yet to find for Tiderider. He IS my true world, Teo."
Trellia turned to the blank dead cloud descending upon them. She could sense Tiderider's essence coming toward her, an essence she longed to touch upon again.
"So help me...I WILL find a way."
Teo was silent for a few moments, then chuckled. "You have gained much courage since last we met, Trellia. Admirable even from the view of the Sky Killers."
Which will set us all free. A new voice interjected. The Singers turned in surprise to gaze upon a new figure. The creature seemed human, for it had skin, two legs, arms, and short white hair. He was glowing white like a spirit, and wore ancient garb like that of an ancient civilization, like the Greeks or Romans. Upon his head rested a crown of gold with strange writing on it. His eyes shone not one color, but several colors, in spiraling and mottled patterns like the globes of the Asterite. He was like an angel, ethereal and wise. He was alive and breathing underwater, and even seemed to be standing in nothing space instead of floating in the waves.
The others were confused, but the Glyph Caller was stunned. His giant body shivered with many tremors. "It can't be...an Atlantean?!"
The human-like creature calmly answered, staring ahead and seeming to speak without moving his mouth. I am not an Atlantean. I have merely taken on the form of one; a form that seemed to me best suited for a job such as this. It has taken millions of years for me to gather enough energy from this planet to be able to finally shift my body into a tangible form. I am the Asterite.
"Asterite!" Trellia trilled happily. "But, we assumed you were dead."
I cannot die, my friend. But there is a final bit of history that you must know. And since we may know the source of this disruption, it is time I told you. Too late, I know that you think so, but I will tell my tale quickly. Then perhaps Tiderider can be freed from this accursed world.
You see, I, the Asterite, am not from Earth, contrary to the belief of the Singers. I was developed and brought here. By...the Vortex.
There was a gasp from the crowd. Trellia could not form words, but stood staring, dumfounded.
Hard to believe, I see, the Asterite sighed. Allow me to finish.
Long ago, when the Earth was young, the Vortex were finished feeding upon and conquering a planet previous to this one. They began their search for a new planet, a new food source and living place to fit their needs and desires so they could not starve. What they found was a planet not too far away from them, nearby the star system Cassandra. It was rich with life, especially beneath the seas.
In their machine, they used electricity mixed with their own DNA in a strange mixture, creating twenty-eight small spheres, each with a small piece of them. Alone, the spheres were useless. But placed together, they formed a single giant entity. The globes were pieces of its brain, personality, soul, everything a sapient creature is made of. With it, the new life form was given great and hidden powers to defend itself. Each globe had different powers, such as mind reading, psychic future abilities, and a shock of electricity to defend itself.
The creature was created with but one purpose: to be sent to the Earth, their newly discovered young planet, and gather information about it as it grew old and its creatures evolved into more powerful, smarter beings. Send information back to planet Vortex, and ready them for conquest. So, the purpose of the Asterite came to be.
I was sent to the planet on a passerby comet, which was directed straight towards it. In an immense shockwave that destroyed nearly every species of animal on Earth, the comet landed with the force of ten atomic bombs. Through the explosion, my globes reformed from the debris and ended up in the ocean of the dying world.
I was hidden for a while. But one day, a small dolphin from the future era evaded my lightning and stole one of my globes, stripping me of my power, and disappeared with it. But with what I lost, I gained much more.
The planet grew over millions of centuries, and I witnessed it. The evolution of creatures that could sing in the sea and congregate on land...birth, death, rain, sun, plants that disappeared and grew again with each new generation...it was pure poetry. Slowly, gradually, my sentience grew and changed. I learned from the creatures of the sea. I gradually became a legend, the wise and powerful Asterite. I gained new powers and I the more I thought, the more I disliked my former masters and their treacherous, murdering ways. They wanted this beautiful planet.
It was a mistake to create me as a creature that could learn and grow, just like a Singer or a human or any lovely beast living on this world. I kept the knowledge I have gained to myself, as my own personal glory. Then one day, a new civilization seemed to rise from the sea. They were comprised of humans, the Speakers, and cetaceans, the Singers. They were the Atlanteans.
They learned of the Vortex from me, and placed their knowledge in their massive Glyph library. I helped them develop their technology and to become a true symbol of peace, and in turn they helped me gain truer powers: the knowledge of the ability to send a creature through the very strands of time itself. I could communicate with the Singers, and became their guardian of sorts.
But, the Vortex didn't forget their intentions. They targeted where I was staying, and attacked Atlantis. In a war that lasted a year, they eventually won the planet, and I was powerless in my state to defend it. I stole away and hid beneath the Deep Waters for eternity, and failed to sing again. Every five hundred years, they sent a storm to drain the sea of life.
But Ecco brought my globe back, by a miracle of luck. Even if it was by my command, he helped give me a true purpose other than destruction. With my powers returned, I could help him achieve his destiny.
But later, the Vortex Queen survived and followed him to Earth. Knowing my treachery, she attempted to tear me apart. But she failed, and Ecco banished her using the time machine back to the past. But that, along with the Glyph Caller's stunt, opened a new rip between alternate futures, a new possibility for the dark Vortex future to come back.
In this future, though, my waiting has finally paid off. From the energy gathered from the planet's life, I was able to manipulate my powers, and my life energy matched that of Earth animals. I chose an Atlantean form, with powers similar to the Glyphs. I am no longer what the Vortex created. I am my own entity. And it is fortunate, for now I can help you, and give the Singers something back for my happiness. The Asterite smiled as he finished.
Trellia clicked happily. "A very fascinating past you have. I simply cannot believe that my ancestor gave you life."
Aye, that is most certainly how I describe it. Ecco has a powerful spirit.
"Unbelievable..." Teo mused, "There is more to that Jewel Brow than simply a strange countenance...LOOK OUT!" he shouted, interrupting himself. With a swift movement of his fluke, the Orca intercepted a spear of lighting aimed straight at Trellia. It lanced straight through Teo and threw his body aside against a rock. He released a song of agony as his blood clouded the water.
"Teo!" Trellia shouted and swam after him. The Glyph Caller faced what threw the lightning lance...straight into the eyes of his descendant, Tiderider.