RCM- Insolent pest… (burns review)
Anri- What was that thing talking about?
RCM- It matters not… whoever it is isn't the author, I am. If other powers elsewhere have the arrogance to see themselves more powerful than Chaos, that's their prerogative. I couldn't care less.
Anri- Should we warn Aria about the part regarding her realm?
RCM- From what I've seen, I think she already knows. For now, all we can do is wait for more to reveal itself… In the meantime, Sol, get me another review… preferably one from a regular.
Sol- (handing over another) This reviewer's got a good eye! He nailed Crabturtle's source!
RCM- Yes, the Crab Turtle ritual monster from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game was, in fact, the boss of the Island Shrine. You will recognize a number of other monsters from that card game throughout the story, if you haven't already.
Anri- We've already installed at least three card game monsters in the story. Here's a hint: Two were seen before the adventure in the Temple of Elders was complete. Can you find them?
RCM- I'm lifting my previous ban on source identifications from reviewers, since I think it may be fun to see how many sources are recognized. To make it more interesting, I will keep track of how many correct guesses my most frequent reviewers have, and post the final scores at the end in the Credits. Let's make a game out of this.
Sol- Yeah! This is gonna be fun! If you wanted to make a guess in an earlier review, but couldn't due to the restriction, send the guess again. Let the games begin!
RCM- Solaris, that's my line.
Sol- Hehe… sorry, I couldn't help it.
RCM- It's not important. Anyway, I don't own any of the concepts and aspects of games you recognize. Now the Chaos Protectors will run into turbulent waters… caused by a water monster common in these kinds of stories.
Anri- Enjoy!
RCM- Oh, and one more thing: This chapter is respectfully dedicated to my dear friend and fellow authoress Aria Zephyr. Happy Birthday!
Chapter 22
Trouble at Sea
As the ship set off, Shadow pulled Lance aside. "Your powers are growing steadily. I trust you are planning on eventually finding the Darkman who murdered your father, yes?" The boy nodded. "Well, then come with me to test your skill. A sparring match will acquaint you with what to expect when engaged in battle with those of my kind."
Needless to say, Lance was all too happy to oblige. Tikal made them both promise not to use Chaos attacks so the ship wouldn't be any more damaged, but other than that, there were no restrictions. As they faced each other, Lance opened with an overhead slash to the right. "So what do you know about my father's killer?"
Shadow blocked the blow, spun to his left and returned fire with a straight thrust. "You said he had blood-red eyes? That could be any of five higher ranking Darkman warriors." The ebon combatant chuckled lightly as Lance tried the same blade balancing attack he had used on Graham oh so long ago. Unfortunately for the blonde, the blow was easily evaded by extending the Berserker's length.
"Whoa… hey!" Losing his balance, Lance fell to the floor. His opponent moved in quickly to strike, but the boy rolled out of the way and took a swipe at Shadow from behind.
The warrior blocked again, having turned fast enough to see the blow coming. "You know, Lance… if you honestly plan on avenging your father, your sword skills must improve dramatically." He charged the boy with a flurry of slashes, most of which were blocked. Two knicked Lance's arm, making the youth wince in pain. "If you can't even land a blow on me, how can you possibly hope to slay a Darkman whose power is assuredly far greater than my own?!"
As intended, Shadow's words were building fury within the blonde warrior. "I will avenge him… I swore I would…"
"Then stop playing around! HIT ME!" The Darkman leapt over Lance's head to strike at his back, but the boy was ready. Harnessing his anger, he spun on his heel and cleanly sent his opponent flying into the wall. The impact rocked the ship fiercely. Pushing his cape off of his head, Shadow stared at Lance in confusion. 'There's no way he has enough power to shake the ship like that…'
The Darkman's amazed thought was verified as a large yellow tentacle slammed through the wall, inches from his head. "What the hell?!" After slashing apart the appendage, the pair raced on deck to find out what was going on.
The sight wasn't encouraging. An immense Kraken had taken hold of the wooden ship and was trying to rip it to shreds. "It's about time you two showed up! This squid's got a serious problem with us!"
Lance surveyed the situation quickly and came to a conclusion as to the best course of action. "Alright, we need to divide the work here. Link, Hugh and I will cut off the tentacles. The rest of you use your projectile attacks to take out its head!" Agreeing quickly, they split up to different parts of the ship to do their jobs.
"I think an Aqua Sword will do nicely…" Sending the wave forward, Hugh watched the single attack strike three tentacles along the ship's side, each one severing. Link followed the wave's path, slicing through an arm that had escaped the first attack.
"Freeze." The impact of Lance's Crystal Sword instantly encased his target in ice, the whole appendage shattering moments later. While this was happening, the shards of the sword's icy casing arced up, then turned to shred another tentacle a few feet away. "Not bad… how many do we have left?"
Slicing another, Link replied "Three more on this side."
Hugh called, "I have two left over here…" A few seconds later, he added, "…make that one left!"
Finishing off his set, Lance ran over to see the other three sending several volleys of Water Chaos attacks toward the large, spear-like head of the Kraken. Tikal glanced over her shoulder as he approached, informing him of their progress. "We started with Fire and Wind, but neither had any visible effects. Water is doing damage, but not much of it."
"We took care of most of the tentacles, so we'll add our distance attacks to the mix." As the last of his words left his lips, the cold black eyes of the beast glowed blue, and half a dozen new appendages shot forward from its body. "Damn! Everyone focus all attacks on that head! We have to kill it fast, or else it'll keep regrowing those tentacles!"
Hugh turned away to attack more limbs. "If Water's the only one that works, I can't reach it. You handle the head, I'll keep the arms busy!"
"Okay, that works. The rest of you, attack on three. One… two…"
"THREE!" With tremendous force, the five unleashed their onslaught. Link and Elric each slammed an eye with Ice Arrows, while the shards of the Crystal Sword and Frozen Sickle attacks pelted the Kraken's sides. To top it off, Tikal's Blizzard drove hard into the center of the beast, combining with the other icy attacks to freeze that section of its body solid. Shifting spells, the elfin mage shattered the frozen segment with a Tidal Surge.
"I think that did it!" The high-pressure attack left a gaping hole between the Kraken's blind, black eyes, the edges beginning to break apart into smoky wisps. In a final move of desperation, the dying squid lifted all of its remaining tentacles, wrapped them together into one, and brought the thick new weapon down hard onto the center of the ship. "Oh shit…"
The impact shattered a large section of the already weakening vessel, causing several ruptures that began to rapidly take in water. With a final cry that resembled a sadistic laugh, the Kraken died. "We have to get to shore! The boat took too much damage!"
"How?! I can barely see Gohdan from here! We'll never make it!"
Thinking quickly, Link pulled the Wind Waker from his pocket. "If there's anything below decks that you think we'll need, grab it now. I'm going to try something real risky." When no one moved, he conducted down, right, left, then up.
Hearing the Ballad of Gales, Cyclos flew in quickly. "Link! I thought I heard Zephos say you were around these parts…"
"Cyclos, we need a cyclone to take us to the shore of Gohdan, fast."
The red frog frowned. "Link, you know a ship this size would be torn apart during the trip."
Annoyed, Hugh interrupted. "Look closer. We're already sinking!"
"I wouldn't ask to transport a boat this size if it wasn't absolutely necessary. You know that."
Nodding slowly, the deity waved his hand. "You all had better grab hold of something." The twister enveloped them, lifting the creaking vessel out of the water. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
Fragments of the wrecked ship twisted in the wind as the cyclone traveled over the sea. Within a matter of seconds, the small storm touched down on the water, much closer than before but still beyond swimming distance. "Cyclos, why couldn't you drop us off closer?"
"If I dropped you any closer, the debris would cause too much damage to the surrounding area, making your landing near impossible. If you don't think you can make it swimming on your own, why not have the little lady use her magic and have you all ride the surf in?"
The simplicity of the solution dumbfounded the lot of them, each turning to face the now-blushing Tikal. "I… I'm sorry, I completely forgot the Triad could do that…" Casting Tidal Surge, she created a wave that carried the group much closer to shore. With a final wave to the departing Wind deity, they made their way to the small group of tents among the dunes.
End Chapter 22
RCM- With that, the next leg of the journey commences…
Anri- As Master mentioned earlier, this chapter was dedicated to Lady Aria for her birthday. All of us here wish her the best.
Sol- We've got lots to do in preparation for the next chapter, where the final Chosen One is revealed, so… yeah.
RCM- As the time I am writing this is after midnight, and I must go to school in the morning, I will end this here. Farewell, my readers. Remember, all source guesses are now being accepted, and I will be keeping track of how many each of you successfully name. Good luck to all of you.
Anri- See ya!
Sol- Later!
