KYOTEN CRAP 14
Galadriel turns to Riccardo.
"Is it okay if I tell them? Because it sort of involves you an eensy weensy bit..." she asks.
Riccardo nods, and she turns back to them.
"The Quirino line was the original royal family. During my grandfather's reign, the sea witch enchanted him and his people, turning them into mercreatures. However, for her "favor", she required that he sacrifice a young maiden-and she chose the king's daughter, who was my aunt. He refused, and he had the witch trapped and banished into exile, but somehow she was able to come back and she possessed my aunt in order to stabilize her power. My father loved his sister very much, so he attempted to kill the witch, but the sorceress was so clever that she escaped with just a fatal wound and she tricked my father into killing his sister. The sea witch vowed to take revenge by taking someone dear to him again, and because of that, he never let me venture outside the kingdom for fear that I might run into her."
"But you were stubborn," Riccardo says, and the pink-haired mermaid laughs.
"I was stubborn," she admits to them all sheepishly. "I snuck out. I loved to play in a cove near the beach and watch he humans, okay? That's where I met Rick. I was looking for my favorite conch shell, which I left there the night before, but I couldn't find it the whole day. Before I went back, I saw Rick sitting on my favorite rock with my favorite shell in his ear."
"You threw a lump of seaweed at me," Riccardo recalls thoughtfully. "And you called me a kelp-head while screaming for me to return your shell."
"And you said 'I love the sound of the sea.'" She replies, and they laugh once more at their nostalgia before Galadriel continues.
"Anyway, Rick and I became best friends ever since...before I...kind of..." She trails off, cheeks turning pink before looking away.
Most of the people do a soundless "ohhhh" expression when they see the mermaid's awkward state.
"I don't get it," Harry whispers to Roma.
"Me too," he whispers back. "Hey Sam Gook, what's everyone 'ohh-ing' about?"
"She was in love you twat," Jade hisses while whacking Roma.
Riccardo, after realizing what she meant, looks away while scratching the back of his head.
"Okay, now that you get the picture, there was a point in time when Rick was moving. His father got promoted, and Rick was becoming more and more famous as a child prodigy in music. And I...I couldn't let him go. My dad saw how much I-uhm, 'liked'- Rick, so before my dad died, he gave me permission to leave the kingdom and be by his side as a human with the help of a sorcerer. I only had three conditions: first, I had to be a boy, second, I could tell no one where I came from, or who I was, and third, Rick must not find out that I am Galadriel. If I broke any of those, Rick would disappear. Only Leia and my close family members knew." She finishes, her voice growing soft and squeaky at the end. Her cheeks are really red, obviously showing her embarrassment at having to tell all of this personal stuff.
"And now she used it against you? What's up with her?" Jade huffs, but Galadriel just shakes her head.
"Leia...I never knew she felt that jealousy. As far as I observed, they loved her just the same-perhaps they loved her even more when she promised to carry on the duties I left to her," Galadriel replies.
"What now? What about Arion?" Vladimir asks, and the mermaid sighs.
"I don't know. We have to ask my cousin about it."
Victor enters the room. They all turn their attention to the merman, who's trying to hide his anxiety.
"He's in a coma. The healing wave was too much for him to handle."
Galadriel looks down with guilt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen-"
"No, it was his decision," Victor answers. "Right now, we should focus on looking for the next Deus Relic. Do you have any idea what it is or where Atlas is?
Galadriel taps her had on her chin, thinking thoughtfully. "There's a rumour that the battle armor and weapons from my father's time were left in the place where they tried to kill the sea witch. The problem is...it's outside the city, so I have no idea what it's like, but we might find something useful there."
"Good point," the henchman mutters. "Let's ask the queen if we can explore the area."
"There's nothing there."
"What?" Galadriel asks with annoyance as her cousin brushes her hair.
"I had the place excavated, silly." She replies with a little laugh at the end, which makes a small vein on the pinky's head throb a little.
"But you can go see for yourself if you want," Leia adds thoughtfully as she hands a huge pearl to Galadriel.
The mermaid exits the room, and she is immediately met by the rest. They swim as fast as they could towards the gate, with Galadriel rushing to put on a cloak so that people wouldn't see her.
As they make their way through busy schools of fish and dodge busy merpeople, one of them accidentally bumps into Harry, who accidentally bumps into Galadriel. The impact pushes the mermaid into an awkward angle where her hood falls off, and a young boy immediately notices the crown on her head.
"It's Queen Galadriel!" He shouts, and all heads turn to the flustered mermaid.
"Queen Galadriel!" They all shout at once, and the people crowd around her and the San de Salvatorre. One by one, they all bow in front of her, and she gulps, trying to disembarrass herself to no avail.
"Hey, isn't that the man who kidnapped her?" A man asks, and they all turn their heads to Riccardo.
"Yeah! What's he doing here!?" A riot starts breaking out, and many angry merpeople start closing in on the captain. They summon magical pitchforks, swordfishes, ropes, and othe scary things that Riccardo cannot even recognize due to his teary eyes.
"People of Etlancis!" Galadriel raises her voice, and all goes silent. "He is not a traitor nor a foe. I believe that rumors have been circling around. I assure you that I am fine and that he can be trusted."
They calm down from their agitated state, and the mermaid speaks once more.
"I miss you all dearly, but I have to take care of some important matters. I'm sure that my cousin is doing a wonderful job as your queen. I'm glad to be back, and I hope to catch up with what I've missed. Farewell," she says with a smile, and they all smile and wave before leaving. The children and young ones flock around her.
"But Princess," one of them says with tears in her eyes, but the Quirino's scion laughs.
"I'll be back soon. I'll play with you guys again, maybe bring my friends along so we can have more fun. Just let me take care of something first, okay?"
"Okay..." The young ones sigh, but a few step forward with a garland of beautiful underwater lilies, hibiscus, and plerhytheas.
"This is for you, as a sign of our welcome," they chirp, and she puts it on gladly.
"Thank you!" She says, hugging each one of them before they run off.
"Sorry for the distraction guys," she tells the team after the last one leaves.
They continue, a little bit slow since everyone is greeting Galadriel, so they decide to take the narrower back passes and alleys. They take a turn at a narrow defile, a little bit away from the metro, and they approach a dead end. Moss has crawled all over the wall, and algae has formed on the rocks below their tails. When they look up, they see that it's as if the cliffs stretch as high as the sky, and sharp rocks stick out sidewards like thorns to prevent them from swimming to the top of the ravine. The sand is quite dirty, and the wall has a faded and crumbling royal seal. Galadriel produces the pinkish pearl, and she drops it into the mouth of the old seahorse statue head beside the seal.
Slowly, the royal insignia protrudes from the rock, rotating until it's upside down, and the stone wall creakily lifts to reveal a dark tunnel.
"Anyone has a torch?" She asks, and Jude steps forward. He mutters an enchantment, and a ball of light floats in front of them.
"Stay close," the mermaid reminds them before she swims inside.
It's really dark, and despite the light, the water is murky-kind of like an early morning fog. They move slowly so as not to bump into any of the jutting rocks or the twisted walls.
"It smells bad," Eugene comments, and just as he does, a popping sound errupts from nowhere.
"Stop." Galadriel puts up her hand, and they listen as the noise travels through the water. They take turns peering into the next area that the sharp left turn is hiding, eyes barely showing as they find comfort behind the wall.
"It's the squid!" Jade gasps in disgust and repulsion. The same creature that attacked them not too long ago is climbing all over the walls, picking off something from the rocks.
"How do we get past it?" Sam Gook asks, and they all huddle in a circle a good distance away from the squid.
"I...honestly don't know," Galadriel admits, and she pulls at a lock of her hair. "I've never encountered one before, but basing on what we've experienced at the submarine, I'm pretty sure that fighting it isn't the best option."
They look again, and see that the wall behind the squid is also a dead end.
"Great, what now? Did that woman make us go in here to face our deaths? She owns that squid, doesn't she?!" Jade fumes, turning red.
"No, Leia always hated squids," Galadriel says, and she tries to avoid the squid as she looks at the wall again.
"No...this actually seems pretty familiar..." She mumbles, and she goes quiet.
"I think I know what to do."
"Huh?" They turn to the speaker, Vladimir.
"You see, I am gifted with clairvoyance. It's a blessing and a curse at the same time," he jokes before turning serious. "Anyway, I think I dreamt of the time I was reading about an old sea legend. The hero faced a similar predicament, and it turns out that the wall actually had a secret passage."
"That might be it!" Galadriel gasps in excitement, and she claps her hands softly. "Now, about the squid..."
"How about bait?" Harry suggests, and they talk amongst themselves before agreeing.
"We need someone that can look and act 'tasty'..." Rick points out.
"How about Aitor? His hair looks like blue-green seaweed," Adé remarks in light humour as he ruffles the scout's hair.
"Actually, that's not half-bad. Aitor it is, then," Galadriel replies. "We just need the others to distract the squid as well while I figure out the passage."
"WHAAATTT?! First a crab, now bait?! But I-" Aitor wails too loudly, and before anyone could tell him to shut up, a weird vulture-like screech shakes the tunnel walls.
"Uh oh..." Aitor bites his lip, and true enough, the squid comes crawling in their direction.
"Quick, hide!" Someone says, and they all scamper into the crevices and behind the stalactites.
Below them, they could see the weird purplish-grey patches on its head, as well as the overall pinkish glow as it continues to unfurl its tentacles in every direction. One almost reaches Aitor, who almost screams like a princess if not for Skie stuffing a ball of seaweed into his mouth.
Victor does hand gestures, telling Galadriel, Vladimir and Rick to swim to the wall while the vampire leads the rest to distract the mollusk. Stealthily, the three swim away while the others remain. Without the poor Aitor's consent, Wanli and Subaru start wrapping the boy in more seaweed.
When they are certain that the squid is turning back, Jude does a sharp whistle with his hands as two of them drop Aitor.
"Come here, squiddy squiddy! Delicious seaweed or whatever it is you eat!" Skie shouts from above as two boys start lightly shaking the string that Aitor is dangling from.
"DON'T EAT ME!" Aitor screams otherwise, actually crying. Galadriel looks back, and she almost rushes to Aitor out of pity but Rick holds her hand.
"The wall, remember?" He says, and she nods. The three of them start searching the wall for any protruding rocks or whatever.
"I can't find anything!" She hollers as she and Rick continue to search the wall.
"Vladimir! Have you found anything?" Riccardo asks, but the man is far too busy staring at the corner of the dead end.
"Vladimir-" Rick tries again, but is cut off by the man raising his hand.
"I think I see something..." He says to himself, and the other two come closer. In the corner, there is a crack in the wall, and they watch as a slight ripple issues from the water entering the tiny gap.
"What the-!" Rick begins, but he has no time to say anything else when the cave rattles violently. A large impact on the wall beside them nearly smashes them, and they see Victor fall to the ground.
"Buddy! Are you okay?!" Vladimir asks, but Victor immediately gets up.
"I just wish I still had legs," he complains before rushing off to assist the rest.
They had decided that one nice bait isn't enough, so they wrapped Eugene in seaweed as well. Now the two baits are being lugged around by the girls and Harry, while the rest attack the squid.
"Please hurryyyy!" Eugene cries, and the three focus again on their tasks while trying not to mind the fireballs and explosions in the water.
"The reason why I was looking is because I think that there might be a space behind this wall, but more of an open space," Vladimir says.
"So it's like it isn't the sea anymore?" Rick clarifies, and the elder one nods.
"The problem is getting it to open. Is there a spell?"
"No, I don't think so," Galadriel sighs.
"Why not?" The other two ask.
"Because if it does lead to somewhere outside, it's gotta be a portal. A long-distance one at that. And only the Witch of the Sea can cast, close, or open long-distance portals," she answers.
"How about a warlock?" Rick asks, and they whip their heads to the dread-headed man casting different types of odd magic on the annoying sea creature.
"Uhhh...possible?..." She says, totally unsure, but the leader wastes no time. He swims as fast as his koi fish-esque tail could carry him, and he taps the warlock's shoulder.
"Wunderbar-I mean, Commander Sharp, we need your help," he pleads, and at once the man follows the young boy.
"The wall seems like a portal," Vladimir says when the man reaches them. "But we can't open it."
At once, Jude mutters an incantation, and a green zap of lightning issues from his fingertips, engulfing the wall. But when the light subsides, nothing happens. The warlock tries again, and a huge blue blast emerges this time, but nothing happens again.
"Must be a different type of charm...I can't open the wall," the man mumbles. "Brute force is our only choice."
He starts firing away at the wall, using different types of spells and charms to weather the rock.
"I can't do this by myself..." He seethes in frustration after unleashing another wave of shadowy bombs at the wall. "We need more power to break this thing; we need to think bigger."
"UNCLE LOOK OUT!" When the four people look back, they narrowly duck in time to avoid Sam Gook flying at the wall. He groans, not even trying to get out of the rock where he's stuck like a starfish.
"Perfect!" Jude exclaims, and he rushes forward. "Throw the monster at the wall!"
Another collision, and Victor braces himself to reduce the impact as he crashes yet again against the wall.
"What?" The vampire asks, frustrated.
"Put all force against the wall. Throw the squid against here! It's heavy enough to break the wall!" The warlock explains in a hurry, and he continues to shoot terrifying lasers at the screeching angry squid.
The squid uses one of its longer tentacles to get hold of the girls and Harry, and it hurls the poor San de Salvatorre members on Sam Gook, making the cracks around them even bigger than before.
"We need to help them," Galadriel tells the other two while looking for something to throw at the squid. "Gosh, I feel so useless without my daggers."
"Then try being bait!" Aitor screams hoarsely in between tears as the squid wraps it's squishy and gross extensions around the scout.
Just as it's about to gobble up the poor Aitor, the most horrifying sound rends the air, and Aitor is not so gracefully dropped. They look up, and they watch, almost on the verge of nausea as some icky yellowish goo spills profusely from its eye. It only gets even more gross when they see that the cause of the hair-raising sight is a huge stalactite that has been lodged in the aqueous body part.
"Blech," Jade sticks her tongue out, so she tries not to look at the blood-curdling distraction by helping Galadriel weave some kind of rope. The others waste no time, and they use their quite rusty blades to slice the tentacles of the beast and throw heavy rocks while Victor is getting a clear shot to hit the other eye.
"This doesn't even look like the squids in the human world books-is it a mutation?!" Galadriel asks as she swims around the pink mass to wrap it in the rope. She tries to avoid Jude's magic attacks, as well as the weird suctions surrounding them as she loops the improvised material around it.
"Guys, wrap it in rope so we can throw it!" She yells over all the explosions, and Skie and Rosie immediately take initiative. The vengeful and now very hungry squid sees a great deal in a certain wavy-haired merman, so it drops Eugene and reaches out for the team leader.
"Rick!" Vladimir tries holding on to the boy, but the angry squid is too strong.
"Hold on Rick!" Rosie calls, and the three girls finish in the nick of time. "Everybody, grab a rope!"
Everyone immediately does so, and they throw the pink thing with all their might at the wall. Clouds of dust and pulverized rock cover the place, sending everyone into a coughing fit. A last screech resounds, and it grows far away and distant until it could no longer be heard.
Everyone stays still for a few seconds, waiting for the haze to clear as they catch their breaths. When it does, they see that the area beyond is much darker, almost black like squid ink.
"What is that?..." Galadriel asks, and she swims forward to investigate. Rick immediately follows her.
"Galadriel, it might be dangero-WOAH!" He yelps as he feels himself being sucked in. He immediately grabs on the jamb of the entrance with his left arm while his right arm is gripping tightly on Galadriel.
"GUYS! Don't get near!" Riccardo orders them as he tries to pull himself out without dropping Galadriel.
The others start holding on any stable surface they could see, sticking their fingers in any cracks and grasping on possible footholds or stray seaweed.
"No! Let go, Riccardo!" Jude contradicts, coming closer slowly so as not to get sucked in that easily. "That's definitely the portal!"
Jude's words are fading away as Rick could no longer keep his grip. His fingers slip, and he does the only thing he can do-he holds on to Galadriel like he'd never let go.
Back at the cave, the others still resist the pull of the portal.
"Jump in!" Jude orders, and cautiously, one by one, they let go and get sucked inside. Each one disappears, and the warlock barely jumps in before the portal closes.
Inside, however, is a completely different story.
To Riccardo, it feels like the really horrible carriage ride he experienced back when he was running late for a performance. Everything looked like swirls back then, and now, as he is being dragged along by the current, it's even worse due to the boy's headache.
"Where we we going?" He blurts out, but even Galadriel is too fazed to answer. They both try to duck and avoid any protruding obstacles. A screech at their right gives them a jolt. They look behind them, and just a short distance behind them, Jude is trying to slow down a squid that looks angrier and scarier than Moby Dick.
"SWIM!" Riccardo shouts, and they all swim along with the current to accelerate away from the undead monster. A rush of adrenaline flows through them, allowing them to quickly speed their travel, but the squid starts grabbing rocks and hurling it at the front.
"When will this thing give up?!" Aitor asks in frustration as he belts away from the squid faster than anyone else.
"Whe-LOOK! The exit!" The scout suddenly cries, and everyone doubles their efforts.
Rick and Galadriel enter first, followed by the rest of the team except for Victor and Jude who have gone to the back to fend off the squid.
"That's good enough," Jude says as Victor pummels it against a wall and the warlock blasts it backwards. "Victor! Let's hurry!"
The vampire and the warlock immediately follow behind Vladimir, but a sneaky, gnarly tentacle latches on Victor by the waist.
"BROTHER!" Vladimir shouts as he sees the squid retreating. Before anything else, the elder one wedges his cane between his brother's body and the tentacle, pushing against the flesh until the more jagged end pierces the creature's appendage.
The creature howls in pain, nearly making Victor's ears bleed. The tentacle recoils, partially releasing Victor, but when it tries to retaliate, Vladimir pushes the stick further. The cane snaps in two as the squid retreats again, and Vladimir grabs his younger brother before diving into the portal.
Victor can't exactly recall the details correctly, but he does know that the feeling of suction cups all over his skin sent chills up his spine-the bad kind of chills, if one would ask, and he remembers faintly the snapping of something as someone dragged him to the portal. He tries to open his bleary eyes, and he sees his brother right beside him, shouldering him.
"What the..." He says to himself as they are approaching a growing light.
At the front, a confused Rick is not at all pleased by the fact that he's plunging into the blinding white.
"I don't like this idea," he shouts as he stares at the impending nothingness.
"What are you waiting for? If you're scared, I'm here."
Galadriel's voice floats through the air even if he can't see her. He knows she's just right behind him, so there isn't a reason to be afraid. Rick takes a deep breath, and he feels himself falling headfirst.
Even if he tries to open his eyes, the wind rushing past is just too fast. He smiles, enjoying this nostalgic feeling of weightlessness as everything slows down.
He does his best to align his body in a proper diving position, only to hear her laugh as he turns her way.
"See? Told you it was fun!" She yells over the wind. The air is cold, sending goosebumps all over Rick's skin, but he manages to calm himself down. He focuses on the landing area, and as the white light starts fading, he sees a hint of sparkling blue beneath them.
"Get ready to dive, men!" He warns out loud, and he braces himself for the impact.
From cold, it becomes freezing in a split second as the pristine waters break his fall. His body is paralyzed at first by the sudden temperature change, but he is easily able to adapt, and he swims up with ease. A streak of light hits his cheek, and one by one, he watches as his other friends fall down the huge drop while screaming their asses-or tails, rather-off.
Their heads start popping out of the water in succession, some trying to catch their breath, others trying to pull themselves together. Victor is hoisting himself up on a rock.
"I've had enough water for now," he gruffly states, and his brother sits beside him. Their tails swish lightly in the water as they both scan the surroundings.
They look up, and they see that they've actually dropped from the top of a huge waterfall, the top of which is shrouded in mist. They've ended up in a small lake or spring, with a mouth at the eastern side leading to a river.
"Is everyone alright?" Jude calls from one side, and they all nod.
"What the? Did your cousin trick us?"J.P. asks in alarm, but Galadriel doesn't hear anything. Her eyes are focused on the river ahead, bordered by gilded pear trees.
"I...this place seems so familiar..." She whispers, and she yelps all of a sudden. Her headache is coming back.
"I doubt your father fought in the water here," Vladimir states as he surveys the expanse of the lakeshore. "Maybe we went out the wrong exit?"
"No no no..." Galadriel rejects his idea, trying to remember what her father said. "He always said, 'I could've been as fast as lightning if I wasn't a fool.' He's a veteran, an honored warrior who was known for his carefully calculated tactics. So...why would he be a fool at that time of all times? He must've had a handicap, or something-he was against a witch after all," she analyzes.
"Let's go on land, then," Kaiser suggests. "After all, that's the ground we know best."
"Right. The question is, how?" Doug asks.
"It's easy," Galadriel says as she swims behind Rick. She wraps her arms around his torso, much to everyone's shock.
"Galadriel!-" Rick stutters, getting all flustered, but all of a sudden his eyes go wide and he chokes when te mermaid does the Heimlich maneuver. He immediately spits out something small and white, and it glitters in the sun before Galadriel catches it.
Rick's tail immediately starts flaking, the scales shedding themselves off until his legs are revealed. He is thrown off-balance, but he immediately regains his stability and he swims to shore.
"Thanks Galadriel," he says, and he looks at the others. "Guys, give each other Heimlichs."
They pair up instantly, doing as they are told, and soon enough all of them are on land. All except Galadriel.
"What about Gabriel-I mean, Galadriel?" Harry asks. "We need a container. A big one."
"Uh, maybe I can just swim in the river alongside you," Galadriel offers, and they talk amongst themselves for a while before agreeing that it's a good idea.
They venture off, following the flow of the river.
"I want a pear," Aitor sighs as he looks longingly at the branches heavy-laden with the glittering, golden fruit.
As he reaches out to grab one, Galadriel sends a splash of water flying at his face to jolt him.
"ACK! What was that for?!" He asks, shaking the water out of his hair.
"Those fruits look suspiciously enchanted. Don't eat them," she warns before swimming ahead.
"Hey, look! Is that a hut?" J.P. asks, and they see a small structure made of dry branches and banana leaves, as well as grass and mud. Flowers are growing around it.
"Flowers-and they're in good condition. Does this mean that someone lives here?" Rick asks, and Victor marches ahead.
"Is there anyone home?" Victor asks as he approaches the hut, knocking on the shaky door.
There is no reply.
"Well, I guess we should just continue," Kaiser says nonchalantly. "We're going to lose time."
"But the owner might know something!" Skie argues.
"Something about what?"
They all turn around at the unfamiliar voice, and they see a man in a straw hat. He has a muddy and torn long sleeved shirt, and his pants are rolled up to the knees. His boots are not in good condition either.
"Are you the owner of this place, good sir?" Rick asks, but the mysterious man laughs.
"No. It belonged to my friend. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes. Do you know about the legendary battle of the Quirino?" Galadriel asks.
"Ah, that one..." He says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "A bunch of mermaids came and took everything just a few months ago."
"So she wasn't kidding," Galadriel mutters as everyone else sighs.
"Come on, maybe we can find something back at Etlancis," Sam Gook says, and they thank the man before going back the way they came.
"I would go that way if I were you," the man says as he points downstream. They stop, looking at him. "It's faster that way."
"Uhm...okay. Thank you," Galadriel answers with doubt, etching his smile in the back of her mind.
'He looks familiar, but I can't see his face-his stupid hat is in the way,' Galadriel thinks to herself as she follows the rest.
"What's that in your bag?" Jude asks, and the man just laughs. He discreetly folds the knapsack's opening to hide the whitish thing.
"Oh no nothing. Just an old memento of mine."
"Take care of yourself. These woods are dangerous, old man."
"Same for you. You're quite old too, Jude," he says, and the warlock stiffens. But he says nothing before nodding his head and going with the others.
'What exactly are you planning now?' The warlock asks himself as he looks back at the man disappearing into the hut.
Only Jude knows that things are about to get more serious.