Leviathan

The Mediterranean Sea was calm in the receding daylight. A gentle seabreeze stirred minor waves across the water. The sky turned dark blue as the sun began to sink beneath the horizon.

Two large white eyes opened just beneath the surface of the water. Cat pupils widened in the darkness as the head breached the waves. A serpentine body slithered from side to side as the creature swam across the surface like a sea snake. As it swam, patches of its skin sloughed into the water. Wherever the patches landed, they began to take various indistinct forms.

The water beast raised its head as if to listen to something. The sound of jet engines grew louder from the north. The water beast waited until it saw the charter plane's lights. As if obeying an instinct, the water beast, and its floating patches of skin, followed the plane south towards an unknown island.

(X)

Lilith slouched back in her chair as incoherent images flashed through her brain. Music softly played into her ears as she tried in vain to understand what she was seeing. She unconsciously gripped the edge of the armrest as she felt something clamp across her torso. It felt as if something were trying to bite her in half. She heard a screech and glimpsed a red splash of what could have been blood. She finally gasped and awoke when she felt something soft rub against her face. By reflex, her hand reached out to snatch whatever it was. Instead, she found herself squeezing someone's wrist.

"Bad dream?" Dante asked.

"Depends on how you look at it." Lilith released his arm and accepted the tissue dangling between his fingers. She stoically noted that it was covered with bloody streaks. She ran her hand across the skin under her eyes. When she pulled her fingers back, blood ran from the tips to her palm. "It wasn't so bad this time."

Dante showed absolutely no concern. He sat in the chair on the opposite aisle. "Did you see anything?"

"Nothing that made any sense. Then again, it rarely does." Lilith used the tissue to clean her face. "Where are we?"

"Headed south over the Mediterranean," the pilot called from the charter jet's cockpit.

Dante watched Lilith slowly frown. "You did see something," he accused.

Lilith unconsciously shook her head. "I remember something about water, but it was too vague."

As if he hadn't heard her, Dante stood to return to the cockpit. Lilith leaned over to stare out the window. There was only a thin streak of light on the horizon where the sun had been less than an hour before. An uneasiness settled onto Lilith's chest as she glanced down at the sea below.

"There's something down there," she whispered before realizing what she was saying. She sat up as she saw a thin black stream in the dark blue water. It swayed back and forth as if swimming after the jet. She felt a lump sink into her stomach as she slowly stood. "Dad!" she called. "There's something down there!"

She was sure Dante heard her, so she assumed he deliberately wasn't listening when he didn't respond. She watched the water serpent continue chasing them for a few minutes before noticing the dark patches following it. Some of the patches took the forms of gargoyles and burst forth from the water. Lilith backed into the aisle and turned as if to approach the cockpit. Dante was already standing there to block her way. A single drop of blood fell from his left eye.

"Nervous?" he asked.

Lilith ignored the question. "What about the pilot?"

"I'll take care of him. Just worry about yourself."

Lilith was silent for a moment as if counting mentally. "What if . . ?"

Before she could finish the question, a shockwave blew the fuselage open. The whole plane split in half as if a giant knife had cut upwards through the floor. A powerful gust blasted her into open air. She got a quick glimpse of the moon before going into freefall.

Lilith fell towards the sea headfirst. More to her amusement than surprise, a pitch black winged gargoyle flew upwards towards her with the Yamato in hand.

"Thief," Lilith muttered as she transformed in midair. The gargoyle hesitated for a moment. She kept all six wings close to her back to continue the freefall. A ball of lightning burst to life in her right hand as she got closer. The lightning brought the gargoyle out of its daze in time to swing the Yamato at her as she fell past him.

Lilith threw a stream of lightning at the gargoyle as it swung the sword. The gargoyle was fast enough to notice the blade passed right through her without leaving a single mark of injury. The lightning ripped a hole through its chest before its torso exploded from the energy surge. Lilith caught the Yamato and opened her wings to slow her fall. She looked towards the sunset in time to see several more gargoyles charge towards her.

(X)

Dante fell back towards the cockpit as the front half of the plane suddenly began falling towards the water. The pilot cursed as he climbed out of his seat and pulled himself up to where Dante was waiting.

"Now what?" the pilot called as he climbed to Dante's side.

Dante simply said, "Take care of business." The pilot watched Dante transform and fly away.

"Wait!" the pilot called. "I can't fly!" Dante continued on as if he hadn't heard. "I better get paid extra for this." The pilot climbed further towards the edge of the front half of the plane. Another gust of wind toppled him over the side. The pilot crossed his arms as he fell towards the water. He remained perfectly calm as he landed headfirst in the water. As soon as he was completely submerged, his body began to change. His skin became a greenish blue as a cold slime was secreted through his pores. His lungs collapsed on themselves as bleeding slits broke open across his torso. He paddled down until he was deep enough to slip unnoticed under the Leviathan.

(X)

A figure clad in black gazed over the horizon towards the aerial battle. He watched two demonic silhouettes fight the horde of gargoyles. The Leviathan raised its head as one of the demonic silhouettes fell towards it.

The figure sensed someone approach him from behind. He waited for the other to kneel before acknowledging the intrusion. "Prepare the city, and get the guards here by morning. We're about to have some uninvited guests."

"What if they are the ones the Pythia predicted?"

The first figure resisted the urge to smirk. "That is why we must make these preparations. They're the deceivers who will destroy our civilization."

(X)

Lilith flipped on the air as a gargoyle whizzed past her. She extended the Yamato in time to catch the second one through the torso. She sliced the gargoyle in half and decapitated it on its way down. She prepared to defend against a third until the first that passed her grabbed her from behind. It sank four razor teeth into her upper right wing. Lilith clamped her teeth as she attempted to rip the wing loose. The third gargoyle drove a fist into her gut. The Yamato slipped from her hand.

A rain of bone darts from above accurately hit the first gargoyle several times in the face. The other one took several in the back of the head and along its spine. Lilith spun and kicked them away. Fresh pain shot through her right side as her injured wing refused to hold her up. She quickly lost altitude and fell upside down.

The Leviathan was right beneath her. Its prehensile tail snatched the Yamato in the middle of its descent and tossed it aside. Lilith watched in horror as the sword disappeared in the water. Without thinking about it, she covered herself with a lightning shield. Flashing bolts struck the water and were conducted across the Leviathan's body, but it remained perfectly unharmed as it waited for her to reach biting distance.

Struggling against the pain, Lilith righted herself just before reaching the Leviathan. She managed to hover long enough to send another barrage of lightning into its face. The Leviathan leaned to the side to dodge. It moved so quickly that, in the same motion, it clamped its teeth around Lilith's abdomen before she even realized it moved. With a muffled roar, the Leviathan dove underwater.

(X)

The extended tip of Sparda knocked a gargoyle out of Dante's aerial path as it sliced the beast open. He swung away in apparent madness as the rest of the horde fell upon him. His living hair snatched an eye from a gargoyle behind him. Before it could recover from being partially blinded, a second tress swung low and sliced cleanly through its neck. He quickly dispensed of the last few in a few carefully timed swings. As he cut down the last gargoyle, he twisted his wrist and released the sword.

The blazing red scythe broke through the last creature as it spun towards the Leviathan. The Leviathan had completely submerged with Lilith struggling between its jaws. The scythe hit the water without slowing down and severed the Leviathan's neck. Lilith was blinded by a sudden cloud of blood. The Leviathan's head was still clamped onto her body as it began to sink.

Lilith struggled against the Leviathan's mouth to force it open. She returned to human form as more pain began to wear on her. Before panic could set in, she glimpsed a human figure swimming towards her. His body waved up and down like a dolphin's tail as he sped towards her. When he reached her, he placed both feet against the Leviathan's lower jaw and slipped his hands between its teeth. With a powerful heave, he pried the Leviathan's mouth open. Lilith felt air escape her lungs as the teeth pulled free. She slipped to safety before the pain began to overtake her again. The good Samaritan grabbed by her arms and hauled her to the surface.

The fresh air caused Lilith to snap back to consciousness. She glimpsed her rescuer and realized it was the pilot. His body had tranmuted into an amphibious form.

"Oh," she muttered nonchalantly, "it's just you."

"You're welcome," the pilot responded with equal indifference. He let Lilith rest her head against his shoulder. He glanced up in time to see Dante plunge feet first into the water. Dante quickly emerged in human form.

"The swords?" Dante asked.

"Lost," the pilot answered.

"For now. Can you carry her?" Dante asked while nodding towards Lilith.

"For a few hours, maybe."

"Fine. Let's go." Dante turned south and began swimming.

The pilot opened his mouth to ask where Dante was going, but Dante had disappeared underwater again. The pilot sighed and followed with Lilith in tow. "I better get paid extra for this."