Sorry this new chapter took so long. I'll be concentrating on this fic for a while now.
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Had Kraken not been blinded by anger and distracted by his enemies, he would have reasoned that taking the Power Stone of Fire from this shrine had been far too easy. The ancient people of Atlantis had done everything in their power to ensure the stones were kept out of the wrong hands and when it came to booby traps they where the best. As soon as the stones elemental energy was burning through his veins, he activated the shrines ancient ward.
"Great Saint George!" Falcon exclaimed as the walls around them turned from marble blue to blood red and the statue of the forge god standing about the alter began to shake, ancient dust and fragments of old brick flying off. Seeing this sight, the pirates all made a break for it, racing for the entrance and leaving their captain behind.
"What is this!" Kraken demanded; glancing back as the towering stone figure turned its head to stare direct at him. With a sudden burst its eyes started glowing bright blood red.
Slowly at first its giant limbs moved with dust spraying out from the joints of the limbs, then swung down sharply bringing the colossal hammer in its grasp straight into the pirate's back knocking him through the air and against the wall with a colossal thud. The pirate cried out and slumped down lifelessly against the
"Heretics." The statue muttered; brick duck spraying out from between its lips. Its' movements were slow and cumbersome as it had spent more of its time in a single position. "You will not defile the resting place of Hephaestus a moment longer."
Wang-Tang had time to mutter something in Chinese before the statue heaved its feet up from the floor, then slammed it down again hard. The rippling shockwaves sent both of them crashed down to the floor, where they both had to roll out of the way to avoid being crushed by the stone hammer.
Rouge watched from the sidelines. So this was what Valgas wanted to ward off with the Atlantean relics? The Shrine had a protector. The Englishman had played his part well. He had lead her to the stone, but she couldn't allow his death to be the reward for his helpfulness.
"Dragon Fang bomb!" Wang-Tang cried out; throwing his fist forward unleashed a furious bolt of golden energy. It struck the side of the statue hard and to his amazement, the stone seeped it up like sponge absorbing water. Wang-Tang was so stunned he let his guard down long enough for the statue to smash a fist into his chest sending him rocketing backwards into a wall.
"Power Explosion!" Instantly the air was full of missiles as Falcon unleashed his attack. Dozens explosions rang out across the surface of the statue and it staggered backwards under the assault, crashing into the wall. But as soon as the smoke cleared and the scraped holes across the surface of the stone skin were revealed, the energy it had absorbed from Wang-Tangs blast was channelled up and used. The dents and scraps melted away as it they had never been there. "Bloody hell!" Falcon exclaimed, before being smacked straight in the face with a giant stone hammer and set crashing through a pillar knocking it over. The Englishman rolled across the ground before coming to a stop; his power fusion form sliding from him.
Kraken growled and hoisted himself up. He was too used to the elemental power of fire and even moving in Fusion formed seemed a choir, and being struck by the statue hadn't helped either. That Atlantean booby trap was not going to let him leave with the stone. Now it had Wang-Tang and Falcon out of the way, it turned and advanced on him.
"Return the stone to the shrine defiler, or be prepared to face oblivion." It told him, the hammer held ready to strike.
"This is ma birthright, treasures I've been searching for over two centuries for!" The pirate king replied. "And I won't be robbed of it now by a big pile of talking granite!" The cannon in his skeletal right hand was raised up sharply and the barrel aimed directly at the guardian's chest. "Cannon Fodder!" Propelled by elemental fire, Krakens attack burned with flames ten times their normal strength. The shockwave when the cannons exploded on the statues chest shock the ground and sand started pouring down through cracks in the ceiling.
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that the statue's entire right arm had been blown off; the dust and shattered stone fragments falling from the gaping wound. The arm itself had shattered into pieces
"The Power Stones are scared relics of Atlantis and the Titan Gods." It muttered, heaving itself back up to his feet. "You misuse their scared power." The stone pieces on the ground started trembling, jumping off the ground over and over again. Then one by one they flew through the air back to the empty space that had been the guardians arm. Crashing together the pieces began to remake the shattered limb, piece by piece fitting together like a giant jigsaw puzzle before finally the arm was back in place. "You are not the worthy successor of the Atlanteans." Landing a blow against the pirates head, the guardian knocked him back straight into the wall. The hammer flew forward pinning Kraken there. The pirate king tried to push the colossal stone slab off him but it far too heavy for him to move even in Power fusion form.
Wang-Tang pushed himself to his feet, his side stinging at the blow the guardian had dealt to him. What sort of magic was animating this statue? He heard a constant muttering and behind him he saw Rouge. She was sitting cross legged on the ground, arms held out in front of herself and with her fingers crossed. Her lips were moving swiftly as she muttered something in a language Wang-Tang did not understand by the clearly not Arabic. Was she attempting a spell of some kind?
Kraken cried out as he dealt something rack and instantly his power fusion form disappeared. The Power Stone of fire dropped from between his lax fingers and fell to the ground, rolling through the sand until it came to a stop at the guardian's foot. Apparently satisfied the statue withdrew its hammer and the pirate king dropped to the stone floor with a thud.
"Leave this holy place and do not return." It stated as it bent over and picked up the stone between its forefinger and thumb; gently lifting it up to its eye level.
"Not, in this… lifetime." The pirate hissed, hoisting himself back up unsteadily to his feet using his claw as an anchor on the wall. "All the Power Stones will be mine and I won't stop for anything."
"Then face the might of the Titans." Despite having a broken rib or two, Kraken dodged the giant stone hammer as it came flying at him. Sliding to the side to avoid it, the pirate king brought his claw up sharply and smashed it down on the hand holding the weapon. The blow wasn't enough to break the statue but the shockwave jarred the fingers open and the hammer flew off out of the guardian's hand. It spiralled through the air before smashing into the entrance breaking apart and burying the doorway in a pile of rubble. The cracks across the room behind to spread like cobwebs, tides of sand pouring in when they got large enough.
"This chamber is becoming unstable!" Falcon remarked, having just dodged a falling piece of sand stone. "It's going to collapse!"
"And that was the only way out." Wang-Tang added, looking in dismay at the sealed entrance. "We're trapped in here!" Rouge ignored the two of them, her concentration focused completely on her task. While her speciality was the art of divination, she had also picked up many other talents with sorcery, talents which had labelled her as a witch in previous years; talents which had made her the perfect tool for men such as Valgas. Finishing her incantations, she threw her arms out and her outline was surrounded by a thick orange glow.
Outside Babylon, as the men and archaeologists from the dig sites made their way towards Mahdad; the icons around their necks began to glow a fierce desert gold; light sparking out from the centre with intensity that rivalled the sun itself. Startled by this, the Arabic men threw them off and cast them into the sand. With a sudden burst, beams of light lanced out from each of the charms and connected to each other in a giant web of sunlight.
Still in close proximity to the ancient city, the ward charms did as they were supposed to. The statue staggered backwards as if it had been dealt a physical blow, dropping the Power Stone onto the floor. Seeing an opportunity, Kraken swung forward with his metal claw striking the guardian across the chest. As it fell, Wang-Tang arched both hands and fired his Dragon-Fang-Bomb directly into it. Instead of absorbing the energy, the statue received the strike with full force and the blast ripped a hole directly through its chest.
"Dragon Typhoon!" Spinning his entire body around and summoning elemental wind, Wang-Tang focused a whirlwind around the stone giant's body. The savage onslaught tore the body of the colossus apart, smashing it repeatedly against the walls before finally it collapsed into dust, mixing with the sand on the floor.
"It was just made of sand-stone?" Falcon asked sounding amazing, gazing at the rubble around it. Wang-Tang, feeling the energy drain let his Power Fusion form go and he dropped to the floor slightly out of breath. "Erode isn't going to be believe this when I tell him. And it spoke English."
"English?" Rouge repeated, sounding confused as she stood up. "It was speaking Arabic." Falcon raised his eyebrows in response.
"It sounded to me like perfect Chinese." Wang-Tang added in.
"Well to me it sounded like Spanish but that ain't important right now." Kraken declared, snatching up the Power Stone of Fire on the floor in the clenches of his metallic pincer. "Thank yee for dealing with that thar pile of pebbles. I'll just take me prize and be tottling off."
"Not this time chum!" Falcon stated, turning to face the pirate king with his own Power Stone in his grasp. "Now we're all in the same boat. We're trapped in this chamber and it's about to cave in." Kraken glanced up at the cracked and compromised ceiling, sand pouring in from above with pieces of stick stone falling with it. "Now how about we all hitch a ride on one of those potion spells you keep bottled up?" Kraken smiled grimly in response.
"Sorry mate; left them all on the ship. Didn't think I'd need them." He turned to face away from them. "I still don't. You really think I'd come down here if I didn't have another escape route?" He pocketed the stone and swung his claw up high. "I studied the ancient maps of the city and know where every secret passage is!" The claw was brought down hard against the wall to his right, revealing that it was only a thin cover as he broke it down easily revealing a dark tunnel beyond. "It's been a pleasure knowin' ya." The pirate king added with a salute, before reaching into his jacket and withdrawing a black cannon ball like sphere with a fuse attached. "Sayonara." Without another word he tossed it over their heads and straight into the remaining pillar and the pirate himself made a break for it down the tunnel. The bomb exploded on contact and the pillar was broken apart in a single moment.
"You swine!" Falcon called after him angrily. Suddenly the ceiling above began to buckle inward as it was no longer capable of keeping the immense weight above it anymore. Entire sections of it started collapsing, crashing to the ground burying half the chamber in rubble within moments. Rouge made a dash for the tunnel and had already disappeared into the darkness by the time Wang-Tang and Falcon gathered enough wits to run after her. The moment after they passed through the entrance, the entire chamber collapsed behind them, tones of sand stone burying the ancient site forever.
"Do not stop, keep running!" Rouge whispered to them through clenched teeth as he made her way through the tunnel; racing for the light at the far end. Following behind them came the collapsing ceiling, the tunnels ceiling caving in under the shockwaves.
"Up for a marathon?" Falcon asked before bolting for it, Wang-Tang close behind. The run was long and frantic, the collapsing tunnel behind threatening to bury all three of them in rubble. There were some close calls where Falcon stumbled and would have been buried had Wang-Tang not pulled him long by his scarf.
Finally they reached the end of the tunnel, finding a vertical shaft leading directly up towards a light at the top. A ladder was built into the stone itself and was the only way up. Falcon didn't need anyone to tell him that some climbing was required. He glanced back at the roaring, collapsing tunnel behind him. Some very 'fast' climbing was required.
Wang-Tang went first. Being nimble and naturally quick he was scaling it faster than the rest of them. Rouge followed at him, taking two steps at a time. By the time Falcon went up, the dust from the falling rubble was swirling around his feet. Racing up it he nearly crashed into Rouge, narrowly avoiding a slab of sand stone as it caved over and smashed into the space where he had been nearly a moment ago. It was then that the rumbling finally stopped and everything below went calm. Falcon was not the only one to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Do you mind?" The Englishman glanced up to see Rouge's disapproving face looking at him. He had jumped up so quickly he was almost right on top of her, putting the both of them in a very compromising position.
"Oh…sorry."
Wang-Tang finally reached the top and once he was out in the sunlight, he found that the top of the vertical shaft had taken them directly up into the centre of a busy local market place. Many people were staring at them with very confused looks on their faces as they hoisted themselves out of the pit in the ground. The owners of the stalls around them had even stopped selling their wares to watch in mute amazement.
"We're in Mahdad." Rouge announced once she was up. "The Market Bazaar. The tunnels from Babylon must stretch under the desert." Falcon dusted himself off, his red pilots uniform covered in dust. It was even in his hair.
One of the native women was trying to tell Wang-Tang something but the boy didn't understand a word of Arabic. Realizing this, the woman pointed off to her right through the crowds. Following her gaze, Wang-Tang watched as a large man with a silver ponytail and a mariner's hat and coat ran through the crowds, pushing people aside as he went.
"There he goes!" Wang-Tang called out, before bolting after the pirate. Falcon caught a glimpse of Kraken was soon hot on his heals with Rouge following close behind. She could not allow the pirate to take the stone now.
Seeing he was being followed Kraken threw as many obstacles in their path as he could to try and slow them down, knocking over clay pots; stalls in the market place and even throwing people in their way. Falcon managed to dodge them all, determined not to let the pirate king escape with the stone.
Seeing that his competition was not going to be deterred so easily, Kraken tore a pistol out of his coat pocket and fired at them as he darted into an alley. Falcon had to back up to avoid being hit, the bullet striking the side of a building nearby.
"He is heading for the mosque." Rouge told him. "If he reaches the crowds there, we'll loose him." Quickening their pace at the news, Falcon and Wang-Tang shot into the alley after the pirate just in time to see the ends of his coattails vanishing around the far corner.
The race through the streets was long and Kraken was slipping further and further away from them each time, until finally when they raced out from between two buildings they found that the pirate himself had vanished into a crowd outside the mosque in the central square in town.
Wang-Tang glanced around, trying to catch sight of anything that might the pirate kings presence; a flash of silver hair or the blue of a coat. Considering everyone else wore white or black clothing Kraken should be easy to spot, but there wasn't a single sign of him.
"He wasn't that far ahead of us." Falcon commented quietly. "He's got to be hiding somewhere." The Englishman searched the square with his eyes even as he spoke. There was a fountain directly in the centre and most of the people seemed to be gathered around that. A good number were talking on the steps of the mosque and more were going in and out of the temple itself. The only way out of the square apart from the alley through which they had just come were several entrances at the far side, all of which were guarded by Arabic men in uniform and armed with rifles.
Kraken was on foot, proving had hadn't been lying when he said he'd left his potions onboard his ship. He couldn't have magically transport himself away and it was doubtful he could have left the square. Slowly the three of them made their way through the crowds, glancing around for anything that might catch his eye. There was nothing.
"I can't see him." Wang-Tang stated, his eyes glancing from left to right. Falcon pressed his lips together tightly. He had to be hiding here somewhere.
Perhaps he was using the magic that didn't require potions, the skill of magically illusion.
"Look for anything out of place." The Englishman turned to Rouge. "You know this town better than we do. Anything look wrong with this picture?" The fortune teller glanced around, narrowing her eyes. Everything seemed ordinary here to her. No…wait a minute.
She turned and glanced over at a set of rugs lying across the stone ground set near the fountain. Three tall clay pots stood next to it. Wang-Tang and Falcon had thought it a stall and the owner had gone to pray or something.
"Stalls are only allowed the market." Rouge announced. "Mosques are kept clear of vendors selling wares."
"Are you certain?" Wang-Tang asked. The fortune teller just nodded. Falcon slowly began forward towards the rugs.
It was only when he was within a few feet that Kraken got the message that his illusion wasn't working. Dropping the façade, the pots and rug faded away leaving the pirate king standing there in their place. His leg lashed out in a lightning fast kick that Falcon nearly took the full blow of. Crossing his arms as a shield in front of himself at the last second the Englishman managed to absorb the strike and only get forced back a few feet.
Kraken went on the offensive, striking out with his claw. Falcon rolled to the side before it slammed down, striking and sinking into the ground. Not waiting, the pirate king tore his pistol out of its holster and swung his free arm in Falcon's direction; the barrel aimed directly at the Englishman's head.
The people around backed off at the sight, some of them making for the safety of the mosque and others calling for the guards. Acting on gut instinct, Falcon tore his Power Stone out of his pocket and called forth the power within. Kraken fired, but the bullet bounced off the armour as it formed over the Englishman's body.
"Power Missile!" Falcon declared, throwing his fist forward and it rocketed off his arm and slammed directly into Kraken's chin. Staggering backwards, the pirate king took out his own stone and focused his will upon it. Darkness began swirling around his body, encircling him in flames and shadow. Seeing this near demonic display the guards who had been charging forward, stopped in their tracks with horrified looks on their faces before running away.
"Cannon Fodder!" Kraken declared as his skull face took form, his cannon pistol firing a thick ball of iron with fire blazing around it at the transformed Englishman. The rocket on Falcon's back soured to life and he shot up into the air. The cannon ball soured on and crashed into the ground, exploding on contact in a fire storm.
His own stone in his grasp; Wang-Tang's body was bathed in the warm glow of a golden dragon before the scales formed over his body with his own Power Fusion form. His hair spiked upwards before turning a brilliant gold.
"Power Explosion!" Missiles coursed through the air, up altogether before spreading down towards the pirate king. The pirate smacked several aside with his claw before jumping up high into the air to avoid the barrage.
"You're a dead man Edward Falcon!" He cried out as he landed on the roof of the mosque, the flames surrounding with body; swirling intertwined with darkness. Kraken's arms crossed in front of him and the sky around them began to darken. Calling forth the souls of the drowned, the pirate king summoned dozens of spirits and one by one they appeared before him. Elemental fire burned through them almost instantly and each of them began raging spirits engulfed in flames. Kraken gestured to the Englishman hovering in the air and instantly they flew after him like a swarm of bees.
"Power hurricane!" Thick glowing orange steam poured out through the exhaust pipes along Falcon's arms and as he spun around rapidly in the air a swirling vortex formed around him. Any spirits that flew into it were sucked away by the strong winds and never even reached Edward himself.
Wang-Tang had kept himself out of the fight on purpose. He was too busy trying to gather enough energy. He stood there on the ground with his arms held, palms up towards the sky.
This was an attack he had only every tried once before. It summoned nearly all of his stones energy and the last time he had only used it as a last resort as there was simply too much power to control. But Kraken was not an ordinary opponent. This was going to be the only thing that was capable of slowing the pirate king down once he had a Power Stone in his grasp.
It had the last time.
"Golden Dragon Sphere." He whispered to himself and forcing his will upon the stone invoked its elemental power. A single point of light appeared above his head, about the size of a walnut as first and sparked with blue lightning bolts. Slowly it began to grow, expanding in size little by little.
Rouge could only watch in amazement. So this was the power of the legendary stones? The raw power contained within each one could make a warrior almost invincible. Her own magic paled in comparison.
Kraken noticed the sudden increase in yellow light and glanced down, seeing the expanding ball of golden light growing over the Chinese boy.
"Oh I don't think so lad!" He declared and aimed his cannon directly at him. With a loud sonic boom the cannon ball flew forward and streamed through the air towards Wang-Tang. A metallic fist coursed forward and intercepted it before it struck, striking the cannon ball with a long range punch and sending it flying off harmless into the ground.
"I'll keep him busy until you're ready." Falcon stated; hovering down near the ground as his hand retracted back to his wrist. "Can you control it this time?" Wang-Tang just nodded once in reply and kept his attention focused on the task at hand. "Then I will leave it in your hands."
Kraken snarled angrily as Falcon flew towards with a fist drawn back ready to punch, the rocket on his back roared as it propelled the Englishman through the air.
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls." The pirate hissed, his skull like face setting itself in a sneer. "It tolls for thee!" The two of them collided in mid air and kicks and punches were exchanged as they crashed together onto the mosque roof, cracking the tiles and sending them falling to the ground below.
Falcon swung first, smashing a metallic fist into Kraken's face repeatedly. Come the fifth time, the pirate blocked the blows with his metal claw before kicking the Englishman off sharply sending him flying backwards onto the roof. On the rebound, Falcon propelled himself forward with tremendous speed; sending a flying kick straight into Kraken's rib cage.
The two of them fought on the edge of the roof tops; striking each other with blows that could easily have killed any other men. Kraken's elemental fire matched almost blow for blow with Falcon's metal element. The only thing that would determine the winner of this battle was which one of them had the greater willpower.
"How much longer is this going to take?" Rouge asked, her eyes glancing up at the ball of energy over Wang-Tang. It was expanding to huge sizes. Now it was larger than the boy himself and still growing.
"I'm not done." He replied without looking at her. "This isn't enough yet." Rouge managed a frown, before a loud crashing nose caught her attention. Staring back, she watched just in time as clashing together Kraken and Falcon fell from the roof before smashing into the fountain in the square, breaking open the basin at the bottom. The water poured out onto the ground even though the both of them were now drenched they carried out fighting, blows and kicks pasted between, along with fusion propelled attacks.
Suddenly, Kraken lashed out with intense savagery and his serrated metal pincer clamped around Falcon's waist. The teeth on the side blade edge bit into his armour, threatening to snap him in half. The pirate king wasn't finished there though; he turned about on one foot and smashed the Englishman in his grip into the ground. Then again, swinging his arm up and down and bashing Falcon against the stone below them rapidly, the savagery of the attacks obviously intended to break Edward's skull open.
Finally, Kraken tossed him up into the air before firing his cannon at point black range. It struck head on and the bellowing smoke engulfed the Englishman completely. The shockwave shook the ground nearly tipping Rouge over. A moment later, a lifeless form fell out of the smoke to land like a rag doll against the stone.
Falcon's fusion form was gone and he was covered in bruises, cuts and his clothes had been scorched in places. His Power Stone lay beside him, the glow from within greatly diminished.
Kraken ignored him and about faced, turning to direct himself directly at Wang-Tang.
"You're next!" He announced, raising his cannon ready to fire. By now the energy ball over Wang-Tang was three times his size but it still wasn't going to be enough. Kraken's bony finger tightened around the trigger, then stopped as Rouge darted in front of him; her hands held up and fingers arched; the muttered beginnings of a spell already on her lips.
"So you think you can play with fire?" She asked, holding out her palm towards him in a strange gesture. "Quite often, fire plays with you." A small ball of flame appeared between her fingers and holding it up to her lips, she blew across it. As if sent raging into an inferno, it streamed through the air and strike straight into Kraken's eyes. The pirate screamed, holding up his claw and hand trying to scrap it away from him. Despite the fire elements already burning around him, these new flames sunk into his eyes and blinded him.
Wang-Tang's eyes opened and suddenly his fusion form disappeared, the gold around him sucked up through his arms and into the ball above; completing its growth. Without a single moments hesitation he heaved his arms back before throwing them forward both together. The ball shot forward, coursing towards Kraken like a tremendous glowing missile.
The burning faded from the pirate kings eyes just quickly enough for him to see it coming but by then it was already too late. There was a brilliant flash of golden light and sudden the entire horizon was engulfed in white. Mahdad and a good deal of the desert around it disappeared in a flash, before the white faded from people's eyes and the temporary blindness caused by the flare dissipated.
Wang-Tang collapsed to the ground extremely out of breath, the strength still fading from his limbs even now. There was a small thud and the Power Stone of Wind landed next to his left hand, rolling to a stop beside his fingers. He hadn't even the strength to look at it never mind pick it up.
Kraken was still standing when the dust cleared, but his Power fusion form was gone. Smoke was rising from his body in various places and his coat had scorched patches all over it. He breathed out in a gasp, smoke flooding out from between his teeth. Grunting, the pirate collapsed to one knee and the Power Stone of Fire landed next to him.
"You… you're going… going to have to do… better than that!" He stuttered, forcing himself back up slowly; his eyes set angrily on Wang-Tang. He reached for his pistol and once he had it in his grasp aimed it directly at the boy.
"How's this then!" Someone asked. Kraken glanced to the side just in time to see a fist come flying at him. With no energy to dodge it struck him in the face. Thrown to the ground, the pistol was tossed from the pirates hand to clatter to the ground some distance away. Standing over him was Edward Falcon.
Suddenly a shadow cast itself over the ground from above, an object blocking out the sky. Glancing up in surprise Falcon saw that it was Kraken's Turbine Ship, the Prince Octopus. The turning rotors under and at the back of the ship produced a powerful gust of wind below the vessel itself. A rope ladder was tossed over the side of the deck, trailing near the ground when it unrolled to full length.
Kraken snatched up the Power Stone of Fire and before Falcon could do anything to stop him; the pirate struck the Englishman with a blow to the stomach with his metal claw.
Despite the pain in his stomach Falcon tore after the pirate as he made his dash for his escape route. The both of them reached the rope ladder at the same time and as soon as their hands clamped on it, the Turbine ship began to lift up; pulling the both of them up with it.
"This is ma ride English; I don't take kindly to hitchhikers on me ship." Kraken snarled, trying to kick Falcon off. "The stone is mine!"
"Over my dead body!" Edward shouted in reply, wrestling with the pirate for the Power Stone in his hand.
"That's the general idea!" As the Turbine Ship headed higher, the two of them kept fighting for ownership of the rock, even to the extent of loosing their footing and plummeting to their deaths or even being sucked into the fans underneath the ships hull.
"It's that bloody Falcon again!" Puss snared, watching Edward and their captain fight below. "Octo, hand me your gun!" his larger brother simply tossed him his pistol, his own hand holding an ice pack to his forehead over the injury he sustained from Wang-Tang's attack.
Puss leaned back over the side and aimed the barrel of the gun down towards the fighting pair. They were struggling too much and Puss wasn't that good a shot to be sure he wouldn't hit his boss. Kraken could cure himself of a bullet wound without much trouble but he would still be most annoyed.
Suddenly however Kraken knocked Falcon backwards leaving a clear gap between them and Puss risked the shot. He missed, badly; the bullet striking the rope of the ladder. It snapped; leaving one half of the ladder tittering off to one side, the sudden jerk caused Kraken to nearly fall.
"Ah crud." Puss remarked.
Kraken watched in dismay as the Power Stone slipped from his fingers and fell down towards the ground. Falcon struggled for the ladder but was unable to keep his grip and dropped; tumbling through the air to a very unpleasant looking ground coming up towards him. He tried to get to his Power Stone, but found that once he had it in his hands that it hadn't recharged yet from its prolonged use over the day.
What saved him, to his amazement, was Rouge; flying in to his rescue with a carpet. It shot underneath his falling body and cushioned his fall.
"You actually DO have a magic carpet?" He asked incredulously glancing around unsure of whether to trust his own eyes. "How are you doing all this?" She winked back at him.
"Magician's secret." She replied.
"No!" Kraken cried, watching the stone fall into the sand storm whipped up by the fans of his own ship. It vanished in the gloom and by the time it had flown on past, the entire area had been coated in sand. There wasn't a single glimmering point to mark out where the stone might be. There was no way he could search through all that. "DAMN IT!" The pirate king called out into the wind, his angry voice echoing up to the deck.
Puss swallowed hard.
-
Trying to explain to the regional powers what exactly had happened would have been both impossible and horrible inconvenient. So instead, during the chaos; Wang-Tang and Falcon made themselves scare from Mahdad. Instead of going straight back to the Hockenhiem however; they spent a good long while searching through the sand of the desert looking for the stone.
"We've been out here for hours and getting nowhere Falcon." Wang-Tang complained. "It's not healthy to be out in the sun this long." The Englishman ignored him and kept kicking his way through the sand. "It could be buried under tones of sand by now. You're not going to find it now."
The pirate ship had flown off some time ago. Apparently Kraken had given up on this stone as well and rather than risk his ship with the local authorities, had disappeared to see if he could get a head start on the remaining four.
"You're right." Falcon finally admitted some time later when the sun was beginning to set. "We're never going to find it in all of this." He gestured out wide to near never ending desert before he fell back onto the sand with an exasperated look on his face. Wang-Tang sat down beside him.
"Well, the trip wasn't a total loss." The boy remarked, holding up his recovered Power Stone. Falcon however did not seem to be in the mood to be consoled. Trudging their way back to the landing strip where they had left the plane he appeared sombre and detached.
"I was so close." He finally stated when they reached the hanger bay the Hockenheim was in. The station hand who met them when they arrived was not here. Most of the people in the region had gone to Mahdad to see what the big fuss was all about. "Then… just… gone in the wind."
"Ryoma's probably not going to be too happy." Wang-Tang remarked pulling the hanger doors open. Falcon grimaced, imaging just how temperamental the samurai was going to get when he heard that they had left the stone behind. On top of everything else his arms and legs were still stinging from the fight. The Englishman had a band-aid placed across the nastier bruises on his face and bandages wrapped under his shirt across the chest.
The Power Stone had healed any serious injuries but it still felt him feeling groggy.
"At least Kraken didn't get it." Wang-Tang commented, but clearly Falcon was not in the mood to look at the situation that way. He appeared depressed as he put his Power Stone into the Hockenheim's engine, the elemental engine giving the plane the needed boast it needed to make it all the way back to Britain. "It's going to take him centuries to search through all that sand if he comes back. I doubt he's got the patience."
"Wang-Tang, no offence but the last thing I need right now is a pep talk." The Englishman replied, pulling his goggles down over his eyes and starting the planes ignition. "I'm going to have Ryoma to deal with when I get back so I intend to be nice and sour for that argument."
Seeing there was going to be no consoling him, Wang-Tang just sighed and started the propeller going.
As the plane soured off the runway, neither of them noticed another flying object hovering nearby. A flying carpet floated there amongst the clouds, flat and rigid as if it were placed on the ground. Sitting upon it, watching after the plane and with a solemn expression her face was Rouge. Her long ponytail with the golden ring attached flapping out behind her in the wind.
In her grasp was the Power Stone of fire she had retrieved once no one had been observing. Despite a few hindrances, everything had gone according to plan.
Her mission was complete. All that was required now was to deliver this to Valgas himself. But even so a horrible sense of foreboding and dread crept into her at the mere thought.
Still what choice did she have? If she didn't hand this over her Guild-Master would pay the price.
"Mistress Ghana." She whispered into the wind with a sigh. The stone in her arms felt warm. "What should I do?" She could feel the elementally power burn within in, energy contained therein like nothing she had ever come across before. There was little wonder why Valgas had been so adamant about getting his hands on this stone, the same said for Kraken.
There were nine in all, each of them containing the raw magic of the elements the ancient people of Atlantis recognised. While individually the stones were focuses of elemental energy, they had mysteries far beyond that; especially when they were reunited.
Legends told that when all nine were reunited ultimate power would be bestowed on whoever had them. The power to do anything, any desire granted just like that at the click of someone's fingers. "The bearer of a Power Stone cradles in their hands the power to destroy or create." She found herself saying as she gazed deep into the depths of the stone's clear cut surface as if it were her crystal ball. "The power to conjure darkness." The image of Valgas with his own hands around the stones culminated in her mind and the very thought sickened her. "Or bring great light." Just how much good could be done to the world if these stones were used for the benefit of everyone? She could barely think of the possibilities, they were endless and stretched far beyond even her comprehension.
A smile spread over Rouge's face and her fingers clenched around the jewel. Suddenly she knew the truth that Valgas had wanted her to remain ignorant off. With this Power Stone, she held all the cards. There were better ways to put this to use than in his service. The fortunate teller looked up one last time at the Hockenhiem as it soured away into the horizon. "The power to make any dream come true."
-
The city of Bristol was a sea of lights in the night by the time Falcon's plane arrived back home. A good many Turbine ships belonging to the RAF were sitting in the harbour and the army was still parked outside the city limits.
According to Edward's pocket watch it was nearing mid night here. Wang-Tang was asleep in the back of the plane, parentally so exhausted from the battle that even the fast bumpy ride could not keep him awake. Falcon himself was feeling the tug of fatigue, but was by now means ready for sleep.
Well, perhaps he should look at the glass half full instead of half empty; he told himself. After all, they did prevent Kraken from obtaining another Power Stone and recovered the stone belonging to Wang-Tang at the same time.
"Hey what's this?" He asked himself out load when he sighted his home. A large dark shape was sitting on the ground directly next to the manor rivalling the building itself in size. Silhouetted on the horizon Falcon could make out the shape of a Turbine ship.
Was that the Prince Octopus? Had Kraken come back? He soured the plane on nearer, trying to make out more in the dark gloom. The sudden jolt shook Wang-Tang awake.
"What's going on?" He asked, shaking the sleep dust out of his eyes and glancing down towards the ground. By now they were passing over the cliffs and across the estate grounds. By now, Falcon could see that the ship he was looking at did not belong to the pirate.
The Prince Octopus was a fat ship across the hull; this one was much thinner and had several more sets of sails. Despite all that a blatantly obvious clue was right in front of them for the American flag was flying from the mast. There was something strangely familiar about that ship but Falcon could not place where he had seen it before.
The Hockenheim circled the estate itself once so the two of them could get a good look at the ship from above, before it made its final decent towards the air field at the far end of the manor grounds.
"You own a Turbine Ship Falcon?" Wang-Tang asked as they touched down.
"No." He replied simply pushing his goggles back over his forehead. "It would cost too much to import one from the States." Once he had retrieved his stone from the engine, he covered the plane over with a coverall and with Wang-Tang following close behind made his way back towards the house. Scaffolding was still surrounding the building and a replacement greenhouse was still being set up. All the lights in the house were off accept for one in a window on the top floor.
The new Turbine Ship was sitting almost directly outside the main entrance, a gangplank lowered and several crates stacked at the bottom of it. All of them were labelled 'U.S.A'.
"I know I've seen this ship before." Falcon muttered. One would think the design of the ship itself was unique enough, but these American style ones all looked alike to him. "I know I should remember." He smacked the fist of his head with a fist. "It's bugging me that I can't."
Wang-Tang put his hands on his hips and glanced all over the vessel. It looked a little elaborate to belong to the labours hired to rebuild the manor after the fight and it didn't belong to the Falcon family, at least according to Edward. That fact it was flying the American flag showed it didn't belong to the RAF either.
It was about then that he noticed something.
"The ship has a name here." He called over to the Englishman who hurried over. The Chinese boy pointed up to the bow where letters were engraved in the wood. Wang-Tang's readable English wasn't perfect but he was able to make out the words; "Royal Heaven."
"Royal Heaven?" Falcon repeated with a furrowed brow looking puzzled, now that did sound…. suddenly it seemed as if someone had rung a very large bell inside his head. "Oh god, no…" He began backing up quickly.
"What's wrong?" Wang-Tang asked looking puzzled.
"The Royal Heaven is a personal ship of the WhitePearl family." Falcon replied; his face fixed in a look of near terror.
"What's so bad about the…" The Chinese boy began, only to be interrupted by a loud yelling.
"Edward!" The voice called. Falcon craned his neck up to watch as the top window with the light on threw itself open and a girl with golden blonde hair leaned out; waving at him enthusiastically. He was in a long flowing nightgown and her hair was let down around her shoulders. "Wait right there darlin' I'll be right down!"
Falcon himself looked like something had crawled down his throat and died, mouth hung open and eyes wide in horror.
Wang-Tang couldn't help but find himself chuckling at the sight of that look. The front door bundled itself open and the girl raced out, her arms wrapping themselves around the Englishman in a tight bear hug. "I knew I'd find ya soon enough." She muttered with her head on his chest.
"Goodness me is that the time?" Falcon asked without even looking at his watch. "Got to go Julia, important business." He pried himself out of her hug and made a bolt for the road leading down into the town.
"Business?" The blonde haired girl asked looking a little non-pulsed. "But it's the middle of the night." Her face suddenly adopted an angry look. "Ooh, you're not getting rid of me that easily Edward Falcon!" She tore off after him and Wang-Tang watched them go with the most confused look imaginable on his face.
Edward Falcon wasn't scared of bandaged knife wielding mad men, ninjas, pirate gangs or even two hundred year old necromancer captains.
But Julia WhitePearl scared out of him the living daylights.