Domino finished drying her hair as Thunderchild finished drying the rest of his body.
"That was tricky." He admitted
Domino nodded
"Yeah…and is it the last?" she asked the burning question
"I, sadly, doubt it."
Thunderchild put on his underclothing before putting on his armour and gauntlets. As Domino got dressed and put her belt with its scabbard on he looked at her.
"What?" she asked
"Oh nothing…" he lied when in reality he was thinking How much I will miss your face…miss you.
"Where is the crystal?" she suddenly asked
"In Proeliators vault," replied Thunderchild "In Ankh-Morpork."
"In Ankh-Morpork! Thu, you mean we've left it behind."
Thunderchild shook his head, just before they'd left Ankh-Morpork he had visited the crystal and had learnt a few of its secrets which it was willing to give up.
"Watch…." He said
Crossing his hands palm down in front of him he closed his eyes and hummed a high pitch note which made Domino wince, slowly the shape of the crystal appeared in the air above his hands but before it became solid he moved his hands apart and opened his eyes.
"What was that?" asked Domino, completely confused
Thunderchild wasn't a hundred percent sure himself but he felt a strong connection with the crystal…just like he had felt with the crystals in the Twilight Forest.
"I'm not sure…I can call the crystal to me, wherever I am…it's amazing the power held within the crystal."
Once again Domino was extremely glad that Thunderchild was on their side, there was no telling what damage he could create if he was on Jaras side.
Seeing the amazement in Dominos eyes Thunderchild walked over and hugged her, drawing her close.
"Don't worry…I'm ok, the crystal talks to me…it doesn't rule me."
As Thunderchild was assuring Domino above them through the clouds flew a dragon like creature which seemed to be searching for something, as it emerged from a cloud and spotted the fleet it folded back it's dragonfly like wings and transformed into a seagull, its shape merging seamlessly from one form to another.
The Seagull landed on the deck by one of the Thunderchilds lifeboats and then changed into a genome with long light blue hair and a light blue tail. The genome walked through a nearby door and into the ship.
Thunderchild walked back into the bridge and surveyed the damage, it was bad but nothing that couldn't be repaired. The Thunderchild was using sail power for now as the steam engines had had to be repaired as sea water had rushed into the engine room and put most of the fires out. That had been where most of the fatalities in the attack had occurred as the genomes inside were swept onto boiling hot boilers or crushed under falling machinery. But they had to keep moving, Thunderchild knew that, he couldn't afford to delay…Jara was on the run now, forced to relocate to Klatch it was only a matter of time before she established a base of power from which she would guide her forces, another Crystal Palace…Thunderchild had to stop her before she could get that far.
A genome he hadn't seen before walked onto the bridge, for some strange reason something inside him clicked at the sight of the genome. She wasn't extraordinary, her long light blue hair and tail reminded him slightly of Reiganna.
"Who are you?" he asked
"I am Funaho." She replied and nodded a greeting.
"I haven't seen you before…" he said
"I've been here since you left Ankh-Morpork…" she insisted
Thunderchild frowned but admitted to himself that many of the genomes on this ship looked similar so he'd probably overlooked her.
"Very well…carry on with your work." He said
The genome nodded and walked away
Beside Thunderchild, Domino had sensed something strange from the genome, like Thunderchild had…but for her it wasn't so much something had clicked but more like something hadn't clicked. It bugged at her, but she ignored it…they had more important things to worry about.
Thunderchild was on the observation deck, looking up at the main masts.
"It looks like they're in good shape for now…still, we'd better get someone up there."
"I'll go." Said Domino, she could do with the work to take her mind off that other genome.
"You sure Dom?" he asked
Domino nodded and began climbing up the nearest mast
"Just look for cracks and stuff that might mean the whole thing's gonna fall down!" Thunderchild shouted up to her, she nodded and carried on climbing.
Funaho excused herself from the bridge and walked down the main corridor, she had found out where the main engine room of the Thunderchild was, she knew that the engines were the most unstable things on this ship and it would be a simple thing to make one explode.
Mother will be pleased with me she thought This is too easy
Thunderchild just could not put his finger on what was wrong with that genome…she had seemed familiar to him…not to him though but to something inside him…to that same part that gave him the ability to go into Dragon Trance…it was almost as though the dragon within him had recognised the genome.
Above him Domino swung across onto the main mast, her mind still focused on the strange genome, she hadn't felt her presence…normally she could tell if a genome was nearby even with her eyes shut as each genome was linked to another, especially Domino as she was a special breed of genome, an "Angel of Death" similar to Kuja and Zidane but much stronger because of experiments carried out on her.
From far away in a tent in the sand dunes the tall red robed and brown haired figure of Jara Gedyen studied an image displayed in front of her.
"I am sorry Funaho," she muttered "But I cannot trust you alone to rid me of this thorn…"
She waved her hand through the image, dissipating it rapidly.
She sighed and stood up and went out into the sand dunes, she shouted out into the air "It is done…Destroy him!"
Behind her a giant beast spread its wings and thundered into the sky, creating a miniature sandstorm with the beat of its wings. Then it turned east and flew out of sight.
Thunderchild walked down into the engine room in search of Funaho, he had been told she had come down here and he wanted to speak to her, ask her some more of her past.
The steam turbines thundered into life around him as the main engines came back online.
"Well Done!" he shouted to a passing genome, it's clothes covered in oil.
He had to give it to these genomes, their technical knowledge of this shop was incredible…he could barely understand how it worked, mainly because he came from a world where the steam engine was centuries outdated, and the Thunderchild would be dead in the water if it wasn't for these genomes.
The floor shook underneath him as he reached the boiler room, the power of the pistons nearby pounded the floor, he was surprised the whole ship didn't fall apart just with the shaking but reminded himself that on the bridge you couldn't feel a thing aside from the motion of the ship.
There! He could see Funaho now, she was over by one of the boilers…doing something. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped and spun round her fist raised ready to attack.
"Hey easy, easy Funaho," he shouted "It's me!"
"Oh…I'm sorry," she said "I didn't hear you."
Thunderchild nodded and looked over her shoulder at what she had been working on
"So what are you doing?"
"Me? Ah…err…"
Thunderchild pushed her out of the way and looked at the boiler, attached to it was a small device which looked very familiar to him, words forced their way into his brain screaming danger to him
BOMB!
"A bomb?" he asked
A sharp blow struck him on the back of the neck and he fell smacking his head on the boiler casing on the way down and falling into blackness.
He woke up back in the captains cabin, his hands and feet were bound and he couldn't move off the bed he had been tied to.
"Funaho?" he asked
"Mother will be pleased…she told me to kill you…and now I will."
Thunderchild forced himself to concentrate and focus on the genome standing over in the corner of the room pointing his particle pistol at him, god alone knows how she'd gotten her hands on that.
"Mother? You don't mean Jara…?"
"That is her name yes…but she is mother to me."
Thunderchild groaned
"Oh Jara…why did this have to happen to us?"
Funaho looked confused at Thunderchild
"What are you talking about?"
"Jara was my girlfriend…we loved each other…like I love Domino now, because Domino is Jara."
Funaho frowned
"I do not understand."
Thunderchild laughed and grinned sadly
"Neither do I Funaho…neither do I."
"It does not matter," the genome snapped "Mother told me to kill you…and I will…how unfortunate it was that the engines were made unstable during the storm, a catastrophic boiler explosion destroyed the ship as it was hours away from Klatch."
"Funaho…before you do kill me…I want to ask you something."
"….Yes?" asked Funaho hesitantly.
"What are you? You're not a genome…I know that much."
"You really want to know?" she asked
Thunderchild nodded
"I come from a planet far away…I'm a shapeshifter, two of your Discworld years ago I was sent out to find a person on a planet named Terra…this person was partially of my species heritage and partially Terran. But the planet had been destroyed…the only creatures there were genomes…then I found mother. She has taught me to be who I am and not what my people want me to be. Through her I have learnt my true strength and spirit."
"And this person you came to find…did you ever find him?"
Funaho shook her head
"No…mother said he was killed by the enemy who destroyed Terra."
Thunderchild laughed
"Oh no, no, no Jara…that's just what you thought…"
Funaho looked confused again
"What are you talking about human?"
Thunderchild looked Funaho directly in the eye
"Look inside me Funaho…you know exactly what I'm talking about!"
Funaho walked closer to Thunderchild, all the time staring him in the eye
"You can't be…not after all this time."
"It's me Funaho…I'm the person you were searching for."
Funaho dropped the gun and grabbed Thunderchild in an embrace
"You don't know how long I've been looking for you brother!" she shouted
"Brother?"
Funaho nodded
"Yes…my father is your father. That makes me and Fang your sisters."
"I have sisters!" said Thunderchild who had gotten used to life as an only child.
Funaho nodded again and started releasing his bonds.
"Yes…father has been worried sick about you and your mother."
"She's, err, dead I'm afraid."
Funaho stopped and bowed her head
"I'm sorry to hear that…"
Thunderchild put his arm on the genomes shoulder
"That's ok Funaho, you weren't to know…now come, join me in the fight against Jara."
Funaho stopped
"I cannot do that…I cannot betray mother."
"But she isn't your mother…she…can't be your mother!"
Funaho was about to answer when a large explosion shook the ship.
"The bomb!" shouted Thunderchild
"No…I haven't set it to go off yet!" replied Funaho
Domino knocked open the door and ran into the room, seeing Funaho helping release Thunderchild from his ropes she stopped and asked
"What the hell is going on here!"
"Family reunion Dom, I'll explain later…what's happening?"
"It's terrible Thunderchild….absolutely terrible!" she said breaking down into tears
Thunderchild grabbed the hysterical Domino by her shoulders and shook her
"Pull yourself together Dom…what is it!"
"IT'S BAHAMUT!" she shouted at him through her sobbing.
Another explosion shook the ship violently
"Uh oh…" muttered Thunderchild before running out of the room and heading for the bridge with Domino and Funaho in close pursuit.
"Damn you Jara!" he shouted from the observation deck as the huge winged beast known as Bahamut flew low over the ship again and launched a fireball at a nearby sailing vessel which blew apart in a shower of wood.
"Why mother! Why are you doing this to me!" shouted Funaho as she joined Thunderchild on the observation deck
"What the hell IS going on here?" demanded Domino
"In a minute Dom…we've got to sort this out now!"
Bahamut soared on the sea breeze and banked around for another pass.
Nothing that big should be able to fly thought Thunderchild as Bahamut flew towards them
"Forward gunners, aim and prepare to fire!"
"No, please don't harm her!" begged Domino
Bahamut launched a fireball that smashed into the sea beside them spraying them with water and the backwash created by his passing knocked Domino over
"Dom," shouted Thunderchild as he helped her back up "I can't afford to let this fleet get destroyed…this is the only way!"
He ran down to the front of the ship, Domino in tow, he wanted to be with the gunners when they fired to make sure they were as accurate as possible, Domino begging Bahamut for forgiveness for what they were about to do but there was no reply to her telepathic calls.
Thunderchild skidded onto the deck next to the forward cannons, he turned as Bahamut approached from the side, her horned head pointing at the ship.
"Swing with the target…follow it in!" shouted Thunderchild as the cannons changed direction to aim at Bahamut.
"FIRE!" he shouted
Everything was briefly drowned out by the sound of the cannons firing and a cloud of smoke drifted across Thunderchilds view as the gunners quickly reloaded. A corresponding explosion ripped across one wing of Bahamut as the shells hit home.
Immediately other ships took up the cause and shots began to ring out above the sound of Bahamuts roaring and destruction.
"Hit!" yelled Thunderchild throwing his fist up in the air as a sign of victory as the cannons fired again, this time striking Bahamut in the chest.
He turned to Domino to apologise for having to harm her former eidolon like this only to find her staggering with pain, her hand pressed on her chest…in exactly the same place they'd just shot Bahamut.
"NOOO!" he shouted, catching Domino as she fell to the deck, she screamed in agony as another shell smashed into Bahamut behind them.
"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" shouted Thunderchild but over the sound of battle he couldn't even hear himself shouting.
He picked up Domino in his arms and cradling her like a baby he ran back to the bridge, the deck heaved beneath him as the cannons fired again and again and Dominos screaming and groaning indicated when the shots had found their target.
He ran onto the bridge still holding Domino and shouted at the genome on the mirrors
"Tell the fleet to cease fire! We're killing Domino!"
The genome stared at Dominos pain ridden form in his arms and immediately set to work contacting the fleet.
Funaho ran over
"What's the matter with her?"
"I dunno…somehow she's linked to that Bahamut…any damage it sustains she will sustain."
A shell from the Defiant smashed into Bahamut, making both her and Domino react in pain. While Bahamut roared, Domino screamed again, making Thunderchild weep.
"Someone help me save her!" he shouted
Funaho knelt down beside Domino next to Thunderchild
"I think I can help…" she said
"Just do it!" screamed Thunderchild
Funaho placed her hands on the genomes body and closed her eyes, feeling Domino was in safe hands Thunderchild stood up and ran over to the mirror panel.
"Why the hell haven't they stopped firing!"
"I'm having trouble persuading a sail frigate and the Defiant to stop firing." Said the genome
Thunderchild grabbed the mirrors to the two ships in mention and yelled at them
"Dammit if you don't cease fire now I will blow you out of the water myself! And I'm not mucking around here…Domino is dying because of the shots you're firing on Bahamut!"
Another shot smashed into Bahamut
"Right! Who the hell was that!" he asked
"The Defiant, sir!"
"Both cannons target the Defiant and prepare to fire," he ordered and then turned back to the mirror "You hear that Proeliator, Beowolf? Cease fire now!"
There was a pause and then another shot hit Bahamut, causing the beast to fall slightly backwards.
"Dammit…was that the Defiant?"
"No sir, it's that frigate! The Defiant has stopped firing."
"Right, they've had their warning, cannons? New target bearing…," he scanned the horizon for the offending frigate " three one zero! Aim at target and fire when ready!"
"A warning shot sir?"
"No…aim to disable them."
The frigate fired on Bahamut again, the shells smashing into the beasts face making her fall forward this time, but again she regained her composure and carried on hovering.
"All set, sir!" came the report just as Funaho said
"She can't take another hit like that!"
"FIRE!" replied Thunderchild
The Ankh-Morpork frigate was just reloading its cannons for a finishing blow when a boom and rushes of fire from its cannons indicated that the Thunderchild had fired.
A whistle overhead indicated that one shell had gone wide but a shriek from in front of them told them that the others hadn't.
The shells smashed into the side of the ship at full speed and exploded, ripping up the main deck and killing many people on board instantly. The frigate began to heel over but wasn't mortally wounded, but it was enough to warn the captain that he had pushed Thunderchild way too far and that he shouldn't fire on Bahamut again.
Back on the bridge of the Thunderchild, Domino opened her eyes, the pain within her had stopped now and she felt much better. She saw Funaho looking down on her and tried to back away from the strange genome.
Thunderchild saw she was awake and ran over to her side
"I should have listened to you…I'm sorry." He said
Domino nodded
"It's ok…you stopped them attacking…that's what matters."
A loud explosion nearby indicated that Bahamut, now confident the assault was over, had begun her assault again.
"Now we've just got to figure out how to stop Bahamut….without killing you." Said Thunderchild as a nearby sailing ship disappeared into a fireball.
"I have an idea…" she replied.