Chapter 23: The Rough Wave
Misha, completely bored, sat in Serenitiy's room while Serenity studied. Taya had not shown up at all. Misha kept checking the time, hoping that Taya would arrive.
"You seem distracted," Serenity said, still focusing on the screen.
"Well, Taya's not here," Misha answered. "She's supposed to be here."
"Why does it matter so much?"
"She's my best friend," Misha said. "We're always together."
"So I've noticed."
"She must be in trouble," Misha said, standing up. "Why else hasn't she called me?"
"Have you considered that she might just want to be with someone other than you?" Serenity said, finally looking at her. "She has been acting more mature lately. She's growing up just like you and me. Perhaps her interest in boys has outgrown you."
"…No," Misha grumbled. "She would have at least told me that she was busy doing something else."
Taya was at the park, playing cards with Van. As usual, she was beating him.
"Now," she began, picking a card from her hand, "I'll summon The Guardian of Rough Wave. That should win the game for me."
"Yep, you beat me," Van said, collecting his cards. "I've never seen that card before…but that picture looks familiar." On the card, there was a giant sea serpent with a humanoid skull for a mask.
"You're so clever to notice," Taya spoke, crawling along the grass so that she sat beside him. "Would you like to hear the legend of the Rough Wave?"
"Sure," Van nodded.
"Long ago, the world was once covered in water," she said, lying against him. "It was an infinitely huge ocean that covered all. It was the Leviathan's duty to guard the ocean from evil. Over time, though, the ocean began to recede and underwater mountains became islands. The Leviathan, being a sea creature, was hardly able to guard the land from evil so a second creature, the Behemoth, was born to guard the land. Skipping ahead through the story a bit, the Leviathan and the Behemoth became rivals. They challenged one another to a duel. In the end, both were mortally wounded. The Leviathan, knowing that it would not be able to guard the seas, created a guardian that would at least be able to keep the waves rolling and the tides turning. That creature was De Rol Le. Its name means The Rough Wave. As you can probably tell by the name, it was a vicious creature. It lurked in the darkest waters, waiting to attack anything that disturbed its waters."
"Wow, where you'd learn that?" Van asked, impressed by the story.
"I read when I'm not doing anything important," Taya smiled.
"Say, where's Misha? She's usually with you, isn't she?"
"Not today," Taya answered. Then she thought to herself, "And hopefully, not ever again."
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While T-65 and Galactica took on the monsters in the next room of Caves 3, Mina had listened to the message pod from Rico. "A giant worm?" She frowned and walked into the next room where her children were waiting near a large red transporter.
"Did you find anything useful?" Galactica asked.
"All of these creatures may have been mutated by a giant worm," Mina said.
"Giant worm?" T-65 and Galactica said.
"Be careful," Mina said, equipping a Lockgun. They stepped into the transport and teleported.
They all stumbled as they materialized on a moving platform. It was a raft speeding through a dark, sewer-like tunnel. The water was green and dirty. There were enough lights to see a few yards away from the raft in all directions.
"What is this place?" Galactica asked, readying her guns.
"It looks like a sewer," Mina answered, seeing other tunnels whiz by. "This is a high-speed transport raft…probably for carrying lots of large supplies." There was a splash behind them. They all turned around and saw nothing except green water.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," T-65 said, looking around. Their Mags suddenly activated and powered them up. Just then, there was a huge splash as a giant serpentine monster leapt over the raft and into the water. It surfaced beside the raft, easily keeping up. It had large, dolphin-like jaws, a humanoid skull on its crest with an eye on the forehead, and four neon orange tentacles.
Boss: De Rol Le
The Rough Wave
"The Rough Wave," Mina gasped. Suddenly, it leapt over the raft again, dropping spikes onto the raft as it splashed into the water. "Get away from those!" Mina shouted, moving to one corner of the raft.
"What are they?" T-65 asked, moving with Galactica into the corner. The spikes began to explode, releasing a noxious gas.
"It's corrosive gas!" Galactica noted as the gas burned into part of the raft. They heard a splash from behind and saw the finned tail of De Rol Le whip under water. A series of glowing purple energy balls flew through the air at them.
"Get down!" Mina shouted, tackling Galactica and T-65 to the ground. A few of the low balls exploded on the raft. They all got to their feet just as the beast leapt out of the water and flopped its head onto the edge of the raft, holding onto it. Mina was knocked to the floor once again, while T-65 and Galactica opened fire on its face. It didn't seem to be affected by the photon bullets hitting it dead in the face.
"It's not working!" Galactica shouted.
"Take this!" Mina yelled, diving to its side and launching a Rafoie where there was no bone. It let out an audible groan and wiggled its tentacles. One tendril whipped her to the floor and tried to skewer her, just barely missing her. Another tendril missed between her legs. The third tendril shot into the raft, where her head would have been had she not bent her neck to the side.
"Mom!" T-65 called, running to help her since she was effectively pinned. De Rol Le buckled and knocked both him and Galactica out of the way. Its last tendril straightened, ready to pierce Mina.
"Help!" Mina screamed. The tendril lunged forth directly at her chest.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Seth hopped onto raft and split the tendril with his Gladius. Then, he sliced the other tendrils apart and charged De Rol Le, slicing into its face. It growled and fell back into the water. "Mina, are you okay?"
"Seth, what are you doing here?" Mina asked, getting to her feet.
"Not now," he said, keeping his battle stance and materializing a Lockgun into his left hand. "Galactica, switch to a Rifle. T-65, watch the rear. Shoot on sight and don't aim for the bone."
"Right," they both said, following his orders. The raft shook as something hit it from underneath. De Rol Le appeared, swimming beside the raft.
"Fire!" Seth ordered. T-65 and Galactica shot at the part just behind its skull. Mina and Seth used Rafoie.
"Uuuarrrg!" it growled as its skull cracked. It dived underwater, leaving purple energy balls to fly across the raft. T-65 and Galactica were both knocked down. Seth shielded Mina from a few of the projectiles. Mina instinctively healed everyone and turned to see De Rol Le swimming far behind the raft. It jumped over the raft, leaving spikes to fall on the raft. Seth quickly dispatched the spikes with a few sweeps of his photon blade.
Next, De Rol Le landed on the edge of the raft once again. It snapped at anyone that got near. Mina's Rafoie blasted into its hide and its skull shattered, leaving a worm-like face staring at them. They all shot into its groaning face until it fell off the raft.
"Where did it go?" T-65 cringed when it did not reappear for a moment. The tunnel began to rumble. They turned to the source of the rumbling and saw it crawling along the ceiling, causing rocks to fall everywhere. Everyone dodged the large rocks, which put dents into the raft. The monster went far into the darkness of the tunnel and out of sight. There was a splash on the other side of the raft and its tail could be seen, raised out of the water and pointed at them. Purple energy gathered at its tip.
"Move!" Seth shouted. He rolled out of the way as a beam shot from the tail and swept toward him. T-65 and Galactica took shots at the tail when it stopped shooting. It charged up once again and everyone was forced to scramble. Seth switched his Gladius for a sheathed katana with a purple seal scroll wrapped near the hilt. When the next beam charged, he held the sword by both ends. The beam struck the seal, which seemed to absorb the energy. Everyone else took whatever shots they could until the tail sank below the water. De Rol Le rose next to the raft and rammed it.
"It's trying to knock us off!" Mina yelled, bracing herself. It slammed into the raft again even as T-65 and Galactica fired away. Once a second layer of armor fell off its body, it leapt onto the edge of the raft. It charged purple energy into its slimy, hole of a mouth. Before it could fire, Seth jammed his sheathed sword into its mouth. It yelped and paused completely.
"Now die," Seth hissed. He twisted the weapon and sliced upward of the creature's face, finally ripping it out at De Rol Le's main eye. It bellowed and rose high into the air, dragging its face along the ceiling. It finally collapsed into the water and never rose again. The raft slowly came to a halt at a small stairway that led up to a door.
"Is everyone alright?" Seth asked.
"What was something like that doing down here?" Galactica asked, falling to one knee.
"That thing didn't even look natural," T-65 said.
"I'm sure that was the giant worm Rico mentioned," Mina said. She turned to Seth and bowed. "Thank you, Seth. You made that a lot easier. But how did you get here."
"I was at a dock in the Caves. I heard you all down the tunnel and jumped onboard when you passed."
"Where'd you get that sword," T-65 asked.
Seth looked down at the sword nostalgically as itlet the slime easily slide off. "…It was a gift from my uncle. I still haven't been able to unseal it though. That's why it's still sheathed."
"I wonder what's through that door," Mina said stepping toward the stairway.
"Mina," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder before quickly taking it away. "…I think you've been through enough today. Why don't you just report to the Principal and have a transport launched here?"
"I second that," Galactica said, raising her hand.
"Yeah, let's call it a day," T-65 agreed.
"Oh, all right," Mina sighed. "I guess I'm just a little excited from seeing the Rough Wave."
Taya curled up next to Van under the tree. Van blushed deeply and slowly put his arm around her. She whispered into his ear, "It's okay. Don't be afraid."
"Can…I…kiss…y-y-you?" he stuttered nervously. She puckered her lips and slowly drew close to him. Suddenly, a shadow came over them, ruining the moment. A silver android and a sickly little girl stood in their way. The girl's hair was long and white and she wore small black ribbons in it. She also wore a long, black dress.
"What do you want?" Taya sneered.
"Are you Taya?" the little girl asked in her quiet voice.
"Yes, why?"
"Let her go," the girl said, staring directly into her eyes. Van let go of Taya and scooted away. Taya could not break away from gazing back at the girl's icy blue eyes. The little girl blinked and looked up to the android Tiem. The racaseal nodded and picked her up, walking away with her.
"I…I can move," Taya whispered to herself, slowly wiggling her fingers. The other presence had lost all control, being seemingly shoved into the back of her mind by a much stronger force. Tears of joy began to flow from Taya's eyes.
"Taya, are you okay?" Van asked worriedly.
"I have to go," she said, getting up and running away.
The Kuhra family was gathered at the dinner table. Cloud was there as well, enjoying Daniela's excellent cooking.
"Man, this is good," he said, swallowing.
"Thanks," Daniela smiled. "You'd think that making Monomate soup would be hard."
"If this is your cooking," he began, "your mother's must be unbelievable." Her mother giggled and blushed.
"Unbelievable is right," Daniela muttered.
"Yeah, I'm not very good," her mother giggled. "I'm a little clumsy, so my cooking doesn't turn out right." They all laughed, except for Misha, who was swirling her soup morosely.
"What's the matter, squirt?" Cloud grinned at her. "Not hungry."
She looked up from him and glared at him with dagger-like eyes. Her ears folded back flat against her head. All of the laughing stopped completely. She rose from her seat and went to her room growling.
"She's a little upset because she hasn't seen Taya for at least a week," her mother explained, giggling nervously. "We'll let her calm down for a little while. Then, I'll talk to her."
"Now that you mention it," Cloud said thoughtfully, "Taya has been acting a little funny. In fact, she's been acting totally different from before, like she grew up in a day or something."
"Maybe she's just growing up," Daniela suggested.
"Well, you're grown up and you don't act like that," Cloud said.
"Yeah," her mother agreed. "You get a little cranky sometimes, but Misha's always been like that."
"That's not what I mean," Daniela sighed, rolling her eyes. "I mean…she might be going through certain…life processes…" Cloud and her mother gave her an odd look, not knowing what she was getting at. Then it hit them.
"Oh…Oh!" Cloud exclaimed, feeling awkward.
"Oh, that!" her mother said, blushing.
"Xero's gonna have a hell of a time with that," Cloud muttered. "One of these days, could one of you come over and…uh…walk Taya through that stuff?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Don't you think Misha's been spending too much time with her anyway?" Daniela asked.
"Well, they are best friends," her mother contended.
"Yeah, but this is the first time she's been separated from Taya and look at how she's taking it. That's not healthy. You might want to get her to see a therapist or something."
Meanwhile, Misha buried herself in the pillows of her bed, silently crying to herself as a flurry of thoughts flew through her mind. "Why should I care what she does? Why am I acting like a big baby? She's with Van. I should be happy for her since she obviously likes him so much…enough to forget about me anyway…" She clutched her head under the pillows and beat on the bed. "Dammit!"
The doorbell began to ring repeatedly and there was furious banging on the door. Starr, who was Daniela's mother, offered to answer the door. She tripped and fell on her face, but quickly got back up, despite Cloud and Daniela's snickering. On the security screen, Taya was banging on the door and repeatedly pressing the doorbell. Starr opened the door. "Hello, Taya. Is something…wrong?" As soon as the door had opened, Taya had zoomed through the dining room and straight to Misha's room.
"Misha!" she called desperately. Her face was still wet with tears. "It's me Taya!"
"Taya!" Misha said, sitting up and looking at her door. She got up and ran to open the door. As soon as it was open, Taya jumped into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Taya, you came back!"
"I missed you so much!" Taya squealed, openly crying her heart out.
"I missed you too, Taya," Misha said in a calmer voice, though tears still streamed out of her eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you!" Taya cried. "She wouldn't let me see you or even talk to you! She didn't even let me move on my own! She controlled my body and made me say all those bad things! But then, that girl came and did something. She freed me and made her go away."
"Whoa, whoa," Misha calmed her, letting her down. Even when Taya stood on her own feet, she refused to let go. "Who's she and this girl?"
"She's lives in my head," Taya said, leaning on Misha. "She's been there ever since I can remember. She tells me to do things. When I tried to block her out, she took over my body. She doesn't like you at all. But I really like you! You know I really do!"
"I know, I know," Misha said, quieting her. "Just calm down."
"Please don't tell anyone," Taya sobbed. "This girl with white hair did something that made her go away…No, she didn't go away. She's still there…but she's in the back of my mind now."
"That's good," Misha said gently. "…Let's hope it stays that way." There was a knock at the door. Misha managed to get Taya to release her embrace and opened the door.
"Is everything okay?" Starr asked.
"Everything's fine," Misha smiled, wiping away her tears.
"Oh, so you two made up," Starr smiled. "That's nice to hear. Taya, are you hungry?"
"A little," Taya sniffled. "Mrs. Kuhra, is it okay if I spend the night?"
"That's fine with me," she replied. "I'll go tell Cloud." She left and the door closed.
Taya looked to Misha once again. "Is it okay if I hug you again?"
"Sure," Misha rolled her eyes, opening her arms. "I guess its okay to be a little mushy today."
Notes: I had always wondered about the title of De Rol Le's theme. This was my little attempt to string some logic into it. As for the identity of that girl, she'll show up again when it's relevant.
On the next episode of Sidestory: Loris has something to tell her sister. But their little organization puts Xi'san in another petty mission. Xi'san is further delayed by Chronos's apparent date. The love triangle is set in "Chronos's Date." Let the battle begin…Only Toonami!
