Chapter 79: Leviathan Attack
At the port, Cid was making final preparations for the upcoming journey of the submarine to the lost city of Atlantis. He was meticulously checking and ensuring that everything was correctly equipped and ready for the long trip ahead. The sub had to be kept hidden from the public to avoid any curiosity or interest and to prevent the revelation of any magic-related artifacts.
Due to the nature of the mission, it was hard to believe that a group of kids would be taking on such a task. As a result, the science community at Radiant Garden had provided additional resources, vehicles, and keyblade masters to assist them. The group was grateful for the support and felt confident that they would be able to complete the mission successfully.
The inside of the sub was fully loaded with vehicles, quarters, and supplies, ensuring that the team had everything they needed to survive the lengthy journey. However, they still needed to figure out a way to open a portal to the lost city. If they could do that, they would be able to easily transport all the equipment and supplies they needed.
Cid checked the hulls, engines, and weapons, making sure everything was in perfect condition. After wiping his gloves clean, he looked satisfied with his work. Ventus called out to him while they waited for the others to arrive, and Aqua asked if everything was ready. Cid replied that the sub was ready to go, and he had thoroughly checked everything to ensure their safety.
"As soon as those kids arrive, we should set off." Ventus said, knowing they can't afford to waste more time.
Aqua fully agreed with him. "Hera's given us the coordinates from a guy named Atlas, apparently it used to be his home town before it got flooded."
"If there's still a city left." Cid grunted as he climbed down. "From what I hear, folks in this world have been searching for it for many centuries. The only one those kids found got destroyed from their battle with this Cronus character."
"Yeah, but the Atlanteans spread across the globe, if this is indeed the lead to the actual place we could find and make a great discovery of an ancient legend." Aqua was eager to find out, a pity Terra couldn't come with her but had their duties. She promised to send some photos for proof. She wore a mischief smirk on her face, picturing him groaning in dismay of not being there first.
"Let's just hope to keep it that way long enough that there are just ruins at the bottom and no more destructive weapons that could be used." Ventus dreamed of imagining such weapons still active and causing chaos on Earth or other worlds, or worse being in the wrong hands for evil purposes like the Trix, Kefka or someone worse.
Aqua nodded her head when she saw the teens show up and gathered their things. "So you must be the heroes we heard about. I'm Aqua, this is Ventus." Reached out her hand to shake theirs after introducing herself.
"And the grumpy old guy working on the sub is Cid." Ventus smirks.
"Ah, ah, very funny(!)" The mechanic retorted sarcastically. "Seeing as you're all here, we can get going."
Taren looked surprised by what he said. "We? You're coming?"
Cid gave a hard glare at him with his arms crossed as if the keyblader was kidding. "What, you think I'm letting a bunch of teenagers drive these? Aqua and Ventus, maybe, but have any of you ever piloted a sub before or any vehicles?"
"We did once when taking a sub to an atlantean city." Atlanta stated, finding his attitude somewhat similar to Hephaestus over his machines. "Come on, we can keep this in good condition."
"Don't mind him, he's just protective of his prized work that he's been working on for sometime." Ventus steps in, ignoring the mild glare and huff from the mechanic. "But he's got every right to be worried, this may be a dangerous journey and you'll need a lot of help with it."
"Aqua's right, Cronus isn't the only one we should be concerned about, there are others who are powerful as well, like Kefka." Taren reminded the speedster from their previous battle with him, and who knows what others they may run into and be forced to fight.
Jay understood clearly of their concern and wouldn't go against their need to help if they didn't. They would also need a mechanic's knowledge of the equipment he made in case of emergencies.
They fought against Kefka briefly who joined forces with Cronus after letting him out, and there was the Trix who were more powerful than the heroes. The Keyblade Wielders proved to be more capable with powers beyond the heroes' limit, even the fairies. After the first battle, he wanted to improve his skills and help them in the future to save their world from falling into the hands of dark forces such as Cronus. "Don't worry, sir. We could use the help and they're your designs after all."
Cid nodded with a grunt of approval, liking the young man's respect for him and his properties. "Glad to hear it. Now come on, I'll show you all the ins and outs as we make the journey." He gave them a quiet tour of the interiors, the rooms, food supplies, equipment and vehicles. Taren had to admit it was impressive, as according to Cid's statement, since after Radiant Garden opened up to trade with other worlds, their technology and science advanced at a steady rate through research and testing. Ansem the Wise was personally part of it along with his apprentices.
The vehicles given to the heroes were among the latest developments, making the journey faster and safer for them much like the Gummi ships during the Keyblade Wars. Odie couldn't take his eyes off the advancement of their technology, so many questions in his head to ask them but held them for now.
"Everyone ready? It's gonna be a long trip so, best be sure. And not to worry, there's a toilet in there so it shouldn't be a problem." Ventus tells them, earning a relieved look on their faces. With everyone now settling in, Terra and Cid took the cockpit and started up the engines to make their descent into the ocean.
"Also brought some things for entertainment on the way." Aqua tells them.
"As long as we don't play Monopoly." Atlanta groans just thinking about it. Any game or movie they have would be better than Monopoly. "I swear, that game seems to never end."
"Yo're just jealous that I earned more money from the game than you." Archie wore a smug look on his face.
The teens seemed to have settled in and been comfortable, usually spending their moments watching a movie or a game. Jay had provided them the journal to translate with the help of the keyblade wielders' magic and Odie's technical skills, yet he was more curious about the journal to help them while taking over the controls during a switch.
"How close are we now?" Jay asked Odie and Aqua who were translating the book.
Odie rubbed his eyes as he had been so focused on the book and let out a yawn. "It's not easy deciphering a language that's thousands of years old. But only got a few rough translations thanks to the Olympian." Wishing he had time to study Atlantean before they took off.
"We should also need to be prepared, according to Hera there were legends of sea creatures that drove sailors mad and ships vanished without a trace." Aqua showed him the illustration of what appeared to be some sort of giant lobster rising up from the ocean, attacking a ship from below. "Not sure what to expect, but best be ready for it."
"Or one of Cronus' monsters, not certain how long until he finds out what we're doing." Jay was very certain about it. "So any clues as to where to find it?"
"All we can find is a tunnel down below, that could be the pathway to Atlantis." Odie believed what he read correctly from the book. "I'm curious as to how they got this and never mentioned it before."
"Likely to keep it from falling in the wrong hands." Aqua could easily guess, recalling how the chosen heroes used one Atlantean device to lure Cronus into a trap and that failed. Seeing this journal with knowledge of the lost city's whereabouts could have resulted in devastating results. While Jay's plan seemed simple, it was dangerous to underestimate a foe who's a god. But from what Hera told them, he's learned his mistake and not do it again, so tehre have been some progress in their growths.
"So you really fought other monsters on Earth?" Bloom couldn't believe it from the stories they told her, about the myths of ancient Greek all true, telling their story about facing off Cerberus which was mentioned by Mal during their trip to the Underworld.
Theresa nodded to the red haired fairy, confirming that it was true. "Yeah, we fought the Gorgons, Minotaurs, and even witches."
"Ugh, as if there wasn't enough trouble with evil witches." Flora had thought of the Trix being a major pain.
"One we fought was named Hecate who almost broke free with the help of Cronus." Atlanta was telling the story of one of their adventures with the Winx and Taren, the Witch who was banished to the moon named Hecate caused a major trouble for them.
"This happened on Halloween when Hecate sent her legion of the dead, we couldn't even touch them." Herry remembered and wasn't so fond of that moment. "I hate zombies. Even her Owl was creepy."
Taren remembered talking to them on Hallowween before he went to a party. "I remember we last spoke when you guys were baking."
Archie nodded. "Yeah, and get this, we beat her by backing a cake. Since according to Athena, Witches love cake."
"Huh?" Flora, Bloom and Taren thought they misheard him. "Wait, for real?" Bloom asked.
"Well, not sure if it works for witches from your world, but it did the trick." Theresa said.
Mirta didn't think of that as she was previously a witch. "Hmm, well, I never thought of that."
"Could give a try of that on the Trix and see if it does work." Bloom would love to see them fighting over a delicious piece of cake.
"That I would love to see happening." Taren chuckled and grins.
Neil pulled a confident grin on his face, holding the back of his head with his hands. "Yeah, its becoming a real thing, saving the world many times. Not to mention looking fabulous."
Mirta withheld a snickering of his smugness, Flora leaned towards her with a whisper and an amused grin. "You're right, he's definitely their version of Stella."
"So anyways, heard things going rough for you guys, something about the Trix going after something powerful in your schools?" Archie brought up the situations that occurred in Magix.
Layla nodded with a down look, not feeling positive of it. "Yeah, we had to stop them and the other villains like Kefka from stealing these four pieces of an artifact called the Codex. And so far, they only gained two."
"And this guy named Darkar, he's another of the big bads you're fighting?" Atlanta surmised.
Bloom nodded somewhat. "Well, not directly, but fought against his monsters, and they're just as creepy as the Grimm we had to deal with. But we've been studying and working hard to improve our magic."
"Yeah, but enough chat about stuff, how about we do something for fun." Taren thought to take their minds off of things and have a relaxing trip. "Ventus managed to download some movies and shows for us to watch or games."
"Now your talking." Archie would agree with him and thought to get Jay to join.
"I'll try and pry Jay from his workspace." Theresa gets up to walk to the bridge and get the others.
It was as if on cue, Jay entered the room to find everyone. "Guys, glad to find you all here, you better come see this."
"What did you find?" Theresa asked him and followed the leader of the group to the bridge, looking at the concerned and alarmed looks on the masters, even Cid.
"Did you found the city already?" Bloom asked.
Cid answered with a shake of his head. "Nope. But we found this." He switched on the visual screen and the exterior lights, and found what appeared to be wreckages of hundreds of shipwrecks, maybe more.
"Are those ships?" Archie couldn't believe it.
"It's like a graveyard. But some of them seem to be from different eras." Odie identified some belonging to Vikings, some look like sailing boats and ships… even submarines. "Whatever did this can't be natural for ships to just sink like that."
"Better question is, what did this?" Ventus looked at all the wreckage, it was difficult to know what did all this with so many been here for a long time. The sub continues on passing the wreckage below them to focus on their mission.
It was so dark where light could barely reach this deep in the undersea plateau, but Theresa's eyes saw something… a movement? No, it was probably her eyes messing with her and perhaps some fish. But upon a closer look… she swore something was there. She suddenly made a startled gasp when a vision entered her mind, it was some sort of… giant lobster-like creature and shooting energy beams.
"Theresa? You okay?" She snapped out of it and turned around to see Jay asking her. "Oh, sorry, I… dunno just thought I saw something." Whatever it was, it was terrifying.
Jay knew that look when he learned about her visions and could only mean trouble ahead. "Then we better stay alert."
"Any luck on that journal guys?" Cid asked them for the update.
Ventus nodded. "Yeah, it said something about 'Enter the lair of the Leviathan. Then you will find the path to the gateway', at least that's what we found."
Layla made an audible gulp and paled. "Did.. did it say… Leviathan? Why does that sound like something bad?"
"You're not the only one." Archie was thinking the same thing, feeling goosebumps on his skin.
"Unless it was the name of a Summon, there are many creatures that go by that name." Aqua didn't like the sound of it either, more reason for them to be ready. "Keep a look out for this gateway the journal mentioned, as soon as we see it, we go in fast."
Cid liked her plan and was about to say something when he picked up something on the radar that was nearby, looking how big it was made him pale and gaped. "Uh, guys… think we're about to have company."
Odie looked over and saw it, making his eyes widen in shock. "Whatever it is… it's big and moving straight towards us. Fast!"
Taren looked around and got a look of what it was that was moving, and it was huge… and was coming right towards them with those huge pincers. "LOOK OUT!"
Cid and Ventus looked straight ahead to where he was pointing, letting out a mutual audible gasp and sprinted into action, twisting the controls to alter the sub's course and barely missed the giant claw by a few inches, however they felt a pressure and hear the scrape from the metal.
Everyone clung to whatever they could to avoid being thrown across the sub, but didn't spare them from the tremors.
Jay groans with a sore elbow upon impact on a wall, yet relieved to not be too hurt from the impact. "Looks like we found the Leviathan!"
"So much for an easy way in!" Mirta groaned and clung to a handle bar.
"When has there ever been easy?" Theresa responded while trying to keep her balance steady.
The submarine's engines went to full power to gain speed, despite their efforts the Leviathan continued its pursuit of the vehicle like a predator. They managed to evade the giant claws, yet slammed its smaller limbs against it, rocking the sub roughly, pulling it with its mandibles to gain a closer look with its crimson red eyes. They were artificial along with the metallic carapace upon closer inspection. "The leviathan, it's a machine!"
"At least it's not interested in having us for a snack." Layla ashing ked, but didn't want to find out. "We gotta get out of here!"
Ventus knew what they had to do to help free themselves. "Aqua?"
Aqua nodded, knowing what he had in mind. "Got it. We'll take care of this lobster, as soon as the sub is freed go at full speed. We'll catch up." Summoning her Rainfall to her hand as Ventus did with his Wayward Wind.
Taren decided to offer his help to the masters. "I'll come and hel-"
"No!" Ventus and Aqua yelled at the same time until the blue haired woman spoke. "You're not trained to face off something as big as that yet, you're needed here to keep the sub in one piece and everyone inside.
Much as the redhead wanted to protest, but he had to follow their advice as it was true he never fought against something like this before. Nodding his head as they summon their keyblade armors. This was the first time the young heroes and most of the Winx members witnessed this.
The masters went to the air and closed it behind them, the moment the hatch opened, their keyblades transformed into gliders to propel the wielders towards the Leviathan for the attack. Ventus made the first move by spinning his glider against its metallic shell whilst Aqua transformed her glider into a bow and fired multiple arrows at the claw, taking enough blows to release its hold on the sub. Cid altered course to steer the sub away from the Leviathan as its engines could take it.
""It's loose!" Ventus proclaimed.
"Yeah, but now we're the targets." Aqua stated as the machine was now chasing them. It tried to crush them against the pillows with its claws, but their gliders were too fast and evaded it as the masters can in an underwater environment.
Ventus and Aqua continued to fire their attacks to keep the Leviathan focused on them until the others found their way, but the monstrosity was not slowed down for a moment and was determined to eliminate them.
"Guys, please say you found something because this oversized lobster isn't giving up on us!" Aqua contacted the team on their progress. Swerving the glider over the machine to avoid its assault, but had to keep it focused on them to give the others more time to find an escape route.
"We're translating as fast as possible!" Jay told them as Bloom was using her magic to translate the few words.
Cid steered the sub and spotted the Leviathan swimming towards them. "Hold on, everyone!" He came prepared for something like this, it may not be a Heartless or a Grimm, but this should be effective. Flipping a few buttons and switching a targeting system to lock onto its target. "Special delivery, lobstie!" The sub was equipped with missiles and flash bombs.
"Hold on, everyone!" Cid was prepared for something like this, flipping a few buttons and switching a targeting system to lock onto its target. "Special delivery, lobstie!" Launching several missiles and flash bombs the sub was equipped, only some hit its claws, but a handful made some impact against the head and the flash bombs made blinding lights to temporarily confuse the machine long enough to give more distance.
"Amazing." Herry was impressed by the weaponry of this vehicle.
However, they failed to notice Neil's face turned pale and pointed his finger forward. "Uh, guys."
They immediately realized the weapons didn't slow it down at all, the leviathan emerged through the smoke and retaliated in response and saw the keyblade masters, they witnessed various lines and symbols across their heads lit up and fired a concentrated energy beam at its targets.
"You can check it out when we make it out alive, kid!" Cid grunted. "Someone tell me we have good news?"
"We have!" Odie proclaimed, out of relief for everyone after successfully translating the journal. "We need to look for a large crevice."
Bloom was present on the bridge to help them look through the viewport to find it and spotted a giant crevice just as Odie described it. "There! Straight ahead!"
Cid saw it and altered course towards it. "Call Ven and Aqua, tell them to follow us! Everyone strap in!"
Ven and Aqua threw much as they had against the relentless Leviathan when they noticed the sub vehicle moving downwards, they even noticed a giant crevice when they saw another flash bomb that caught their attention.
"They're heading towards that crevice!" Ventus said.
"That must be the way in." Aqua thought so. "Come on!"
They were unable to stop the machine, but gained much distance to follow it, however, the Leviathan was right behind them as well.
Everyone inside the sub were trying to keep themselves strapped to their seats without being thrown about, the shaking and tremors were very hard for them to ignore.
"That thing isn't going to stop until we're crushed!" Layla cried out.
"I don't suppose this sub has a cloaking device, Cid?" Taren asked out of hope.
Cid gritted his teeth and wished he could have. "Wish I could answer that."
Mirta had an idea from Taren's question, she just hopes it can work and save everyone. "Hang on, I might know something else could work." Closing her eyes and brought her hands together, focusing her energy and magic whilst trying to ignore the tremors.
"What's she doing?" Neil asked, noticing Mirta glowing until the IWnx caught on to what she was trying to do.
Flora told them what she was doing. "Mirta has illusion magic, she's trying to save us."
The Leviathan gave chase when suddenly it saw a large whale-like monster coming towards it. Changing its course to attack it, only for nothing but continued to attack it, yet nothing had afflicted any damage to it until it faded away and found the sub it was pursuing was just by the large crevice.
Unwilling to let them enter, it fired another beam attack to take them out, but they luckily avoided it, one of its claws destroyed one of the debris wreckage of its previous attacks when intended to crush the trespassers who missed by a few feet from it as they reached the ocean floor to the crevice.
Aqua casted a Gravity spell to give them enough distance and made a dive into the way in before the Leviathan could catch them. They found that its titanic size prevented it from chasing them into the narrow space, avoiding more of its beams until they reached the curve, carefully avoiding the walls until it reached the surface and finding air in an underwater cavern once they opened the hatch.
Ven and Aqua emerged and landed on the sub, both appeared exhausted when they discarded their summoned armor and sighed in relief that everyone was safe and sound.
"Everyone okay?" Aqua asked out of worry.
Jay nodded. "Yeah, we're okay. But it looks like we have some… problems." Finding some of the damages to the mini sub. This could be a problem for them.
"Ugh! This is just great!" Cid slammed the wench against the hull, seeing such damage to the sub it was a miracle they made it in one piece. "After working countless hours on this sub, it takes one giant mechanicle lobster to wreck it!" In a fit of rage, he tossed the wrench inside the ship, hearing the clanging noises from it.
They pulled to the shore and got out, fortunately the rover and almost all their equipment and supplies were in good condition, but the sub took a lot of beating. It may not survive another attack if they go back to where they came.
"We barely got out of there in one piece. Did you guys see the size of that thing?" Archie muttered. "No way am I going back up there again."
"If not for Ven and Aqua for their help, we would have." Taren told him. "Not to mention Mirta's quick thinking using her magic to distract that thing."
Mirta gave a bashful smile of getting the praise. "It was nothing."
"You kiddin, Mirta? You practically saved our lives." Flora wrapped her arms around her with a smile.
"Yeah, that was some magic you got there." Atlanta gave a grin at her.
Layla smiled at her but also had a worried thought of going back through the tunnel where the Atlantean Guardian was still out there. "Something tells me going back the way we came is out of option."
"No arguments from me." Archie fully agreed with her without a second moment.
"As soon as we get the communications fixed up and get the helmet, we'll open a portal back to the surface." Aqua assured them as a way to calm his nerves, she can hardly fault the kids for that after what they just saw. That machine was powerful and took several beatens from their keyblades and missiles. If that was an Atlantean machine, they must have been incredibly advanced back then. "Cid, is the rover still working?"
Wiping the muck from his face using a cloth, Cid responded to her question. "Yeah, thankfully, I made some modifications to the vehicles to be all terrain so we can drive and fly over, but need to reserve the energy cells from overusing them. No telling what's down here. Had it been a normal car, we would have to reach it by days or more."
"Then we better get moving then as soon as possible." Jay said.
Taren agreed with him. "Let's get our gear and get going."
They got their things together and climbed onto the two ATVs, the was heavily armored, six wheels, black and gray, and designed with the best tech and equipped with gear for the mission as well as for camping for a night. Herry took the wheels with Cid driving the other after he instructed the strongest member of the heroes' team how it works but showed to be capable of it with his back home. They used the headlights to be their eyes inside a dark cavern, and to their shock to find man-made structures throughout the cavern, giant stone pillars left behind of an ancient civilization, which means they were on the right track. Making the trip easier without having to deal with rough terrains, Cid mentioned the ATVs can also use anti-grav generators by turning the wheels to alter and lift them up from the ground.
Following the directions from the Shepherd's Journal through the translation with Odie to help Cid with mechanics while Jay took hold of it for protection, until allowing someone else to take turns. Bloom took moments to take photos of the places they found in the cavern, she wanted to show this to her parents and no doubt be blown away when they find out where she's been.
They continued going deeper into the caverns, only able to reach a new passageway with what appeared to be some giant skull, possibly some statue and with two pathways leading to the 'eye holes'.
"So which one?" Cid asked whoever was holding the book.
Taren had a hold of the book, with Bloom's help on her magic he looked in which direction. "Think we're supposed to take…. Left."
Cid took his advice to take the left. However, Bloom wasn't so sure until she finished the translation of what it actually meant. "No! Wait, that's the wrong-" She was cut off by a roar, a giant green insect with many legs and mandibles sprouted out from the left hole before the ATV. Forcing Cid to back off, it didn't seem to follow them, possibly a territorial creature, to their relief. "Path." Bloom groaned and should have said it quicker.
Jay wondered how that could have been a mistake until he looked at the book in Taren's hand. He was holding it upside down. "Taren, think you need to turn that around."
The redhead realised what had happened. "Oh, r-right. I… must have held it up the wrong way." Chuckling sheepishly and scratching his head.
Earning a mild glare from some, Cid crossed his arms and gave a sternful look at the boy for almost making him bug food. Aqua had her arms on her hips along with Atlanta, Layla was shaking her head slowly and Flora had her hand brought to her face of her boyfriend's mistake.
"Come on, let's go." Bloom sighs and is handed over the journal from Taren to Jay.
They continued onwards to the path, while at times allowing others to walk to stretch their legs and take short breaks, usually for food and rest. They found more stoned pillars, some huge and left abandoned, leaving more questions than answers of how long they have been down here and if there were possible survivors back then.
They crossed over to a region that was strangely covered in snow and ice, forcing them to stay inside the vehicles but luckily wasn't in there very long. Their journey was cut short of a huge structure in the way.
"That thing's huge, we don't have a drill or anything to cut through it." Ventus stated, uncertain how far they can get through.
"Maybe fly around to see how far we can go around it, there could be another path." Bloom suggested.
Thinking her idea was better than what they had in mind. "Good idea, if you find one we'll follow."
"Careful, not sure how long these babies can stay in the air, but with magnetic generators it shouldn't be a problem." Cid told them, not wanting to waste the resources with no path to take. He could have the vehicles to drive on the walls, but only for a short period of time, or they'll plummet to their doom.
"Okay, we'll lead, you follow." Bloom nodded. "Okay, girls, Magix Winx!" The Winx members transformed into their Winx forms, Ven and Aqua used their keygliders to help as the ATVs drove on the walls, everyone inside were strapped in to avoid falling to the sides until they managed to reach the other side without problems. At least for now.
Little do they know that they were being observed and followed.
Taking a short time, less than an hour, they arrived at a region of the cavern with a lone stone bridge connecting two platforms over a deep hole, ahead of them on the other side of the bridge was a large door.
"Hey, is this another doorway?" Archie asked.
Aqua held the book with Atlanta holding the light for her to read. She closed it after translating it. "This is it. We're almost there, and perhaps find the city… or what's left of it."
Ven thought everyone should take a break as it was late and deserved to rest up. "Alright, maybe we can all get up the tents and start making some food."
Neil was happy to hear those words. "I'll say! The sooner we get the helmet, the quicker we get out of here. I'm missing my beauty tan!" Giving his complaints of not getting much for his 'important needs' whilst being on Hero duty.
"Anyone know why that's glowing?" Taren pointed to a conical-shaped rock with a green glow from several holes.
Odie shrugged his shoulders but gave a possible answer. "Possibly natural light, no doubt some rocks or crystals."
"So like a night light?" Herry said. "That thing is gonna keep me up all night."
They set up the tents and got some food, it was to the heroes' surprise that the Winx made some and used containers with shrunken foods for supplies and space and trips lighter.
Bloom and Flora helped Ventus with the cooking, they were making a special meal for everyone and using one of her favorite dishes as everyone was enjoying it.
"Man, I wonder what the place will be like? I mean, buried under the surface for thousands of years. We get to see the actual lost city." Bloom could hardly contain her smile to see it for the first time. She took many photos during their journey and offered to take some for Tecna for research
"Yeah, a lot we can find about the city. Who knows what knowledge they could have left behind." Odie could hardly contain the excitement. Yet something else he wanted to add as well about the book he researched into. "But while we were studying from the journal, there was another thing that caught our attention."
"Really? Like what?" Archie asked him.
"There was some mention of the Helmet of Ultimate Technology, how it helped jumped their civilization a thousand years beyond any known cultures before the pyramids. Yet, it was from a source of power they call the Heart of Atlantis."
"The Heart of Atlantis?" Flora, Mirta and Theresa both said at the same time.
"According to what we know, it's some sort of energy that was a rock. They discovered some source of power. If it's true, this could be what they used to build their civilization." Jay speculated after spending time researching the journal. "But if such weapons were built, we can't leave any here in case Cronus comes for it."
"More reason for us to set up a base here as soon as we arrive at the city." Aqua told him. "I just hope Terra's doing alright."
"Terra?" Theresa asked the blue haired woman.
Aqua smiles fondly and never had the chance to mention him to them. "My husband, he and I have been at each other's side since childhood alongside Ven." Pulls a photo out of a pocket showing herself when she was younger, alongside Terra and Ven who were much shorter.
"Yeah, we went through hard times and had some help in the end." Ventus took his turn to tell them. "After the Keyblade war, Terra finally built up the courage to ask her out." He remembered how much the brunette wanted to say something to her, but was too much of a chicken to do that. When he got possessed by their former mentor, Xehanort, and at last freed from his control, he thought to ask her and finally afterwards they tied the knot. "When he finally proposed, I almost thought you were gonna faint."
Aqua's face flushed faintly at that moment, earning a few 'awes' from the girls, minus Atlanta who chuckled at the thought of the master fainting. "Yeah, well, I was glad he did and we now have a family together. But still have to follow our duties as Keyblade Masters."
"Aw, how romantic. I bet it must have been romantic." Layla smiles just thinking about it.
Theresa then noticed something was up from Jay who was quiet for the most part and thought to talk to him. "Hye, Jay, what's up? You've been quiet for some time."
The leader had been in his moment of thoughts and fixed on the journal for some time and not paid attention to things, at least until now when he heard Theresa brought his mind to speak up. "Sorry, I must have been thinking about something when I was a kid."
"Another ancient Greek myth?" Herry asked and recalled how Jay knew so much from his mother who was from Greece.
"More like from my dad's side actually, he told me how my great-grandfather studied a lot about Atlantis, he firmly believed it to exist and believed one day it would be discovered." Jay tells them of the story he was told as a kid. Smiling softly and chuckling. "After first meeting the gods and seeing the city of Atlantis, I bet he would have been dancing around in joy to find out it's all true."
"And you run in his footsteps to discover the actual city." Ventus added. "I'm sure he will be proud of what you are doing and saving the world."
"Yeah, a shame I can't tell my parents what I've been doing all this time. They'd freak out." Jay said.
"No doubt the same for our families." Odie agreed with him. "Say Bloom, you said to come from Gardenia, right? How did your parents find out about you being a fairy?"
"Let's just say they had a brief shock after an ogre and a troll broke into our home. They thought I was crazy when I met one of my best friends who I came to help, and by then started to get used to me being one." Bloom tells them the story about her past and how she was in fact adopted. It came to a surprise to learn that she is in fact a princess of a lost kingdom and dating one of their friends. Yet also saddened to learn the fate of her sister, as Bloom was determined to bring her back.
"Yeah, and no doubt your family back on Domino be proud of how you turned out, taking on an army of monsters, evil witches and becoming a strong fairy." Taren was certain about it.
"And no doubt you will be surprised to be in the presence of someone who helped saved the world for the first time." Neil pulls a confident smug look on his face. "You may thank me for it."
"Ugh, Neil, give it a rest! We've done it many times now, let it go. You only just got lucky that's all." Archie couldn't believe he was still bringing it up.
Mirta agrees with him and groans. "Yeah, come on, I was able to help out as well remember. I was still fortunate to not get grounded by my dad."
"You know, we only met your dad, Mirta. What happened to your mom?" Layla been curious and brought up a question the others have been thinking, yet didn't want to ask should it be a sensitive topic.
"Uh, Mirta, you don't need to if it's personal or anything." Flora didn't want to intrude on her friend's personal life.
"No, it's fine. I guess you might as well know, I… never actually met my mom. It was just me and my dad." Mirta stares at the ground. "I was just a baby when she had me, dad told me how they met during the crisis against the evil witches after he came along to find Taren's dad. She sacrificed herself saving me as I know."
"Oh, so sorry to hear that." Bloom felt bad for Mirta, knowing how it must feel to lose a parent. "Are there any photos of her or something to remember her?"
"Well, dad said I probably gained my illusion magic from her. Never had the chance to take a photo of her when he was out in a war."
Aqua noticed the time and how late it was with no telling it was dark or night above the surface. "Okay, everyone, think maybe we should get some shut eye and be ready for the morning."
"Okay, so let's sort out the tents and get some sleep." Taren thought of who would be sharing the tents when suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and discovered the hand belonged to Ventus. "Uh, something matters?"
"Yeah, the boy's side is over here." Ventus pointed over his shoulder. "The girls can sleep on the other."
"What? Not like anything was gonna happen." Bloom receives a doubtful look from Aqua and Ventus from thinking about it.
"Look, we've been on a long trip, so just take the tents and get some sleep, kids." Aqua poured water over the fire as it was time for everyone to get some sleep.
Bloom settled on the bed to rest up, she relaxed and sighs with a smile. "You know it's been awhile since I went camping, but usually with my parents back home. I was always so excited to do it outdoors when I was a kid."
"Yeah, I remember the time I went with my parents, dad was teaching me how to throw some stones across the lake… only mine got thrown way further beyond the shores." Herry chuckles over a fond moment as he rested on his back with his hands behind his head. "Mom said I definitely took after my dad and I was just 7 years old, he even said to have sent him a mile across!"
"Remind me to avoid challenging you to a rock throw contest." Taren lays into his tent, letting out a yawn before switching his lamp off. "Night guys."
Everyone was settling into their tents and switched theirs off to turn off the night, little did any of them were aware that a trio of masked figures who had been following them snuck into the camp. They scouted through the camp, not making a sound when another glided through the air before landing gracefully, the other snuck into a bag and went through it, pulling out several items.
"Uuuggh."
A groggily sound alerted the group, immediately putting back the items and bag where they found it and went into hiding before anyone noticed them. The one who emerged from one of the tents was Taren, holding out a flashlight and a roll of toilet paper, obviously waking up because of his natural needs.
"Should have gone before I went to bed." Whispers under his breath, carefully walking through the camp without waking anyone up. He could hear the mechanic snoring, muttering in his sleep. He suddenly stopped to hear some footsteps, waving his flashlight about and was surprised it was Mirta who jumped and almost yelped in his presence.
"Mirta? What are you doing at this hour?" Taren was grateful he didn't shout or make her scream.
"I just woke up, thinking I heard something. And could you get that light out of my face?" She scrunched her eyes and found it too bright, much to his embarrassment.
"Sorry. That probably have been me. Needed to… uh, take a business." HOlding up a toilet paper in his hand, which gave Mirta the idea.
"Oh, right, uh, better take it out there without anyone nearby." Mirta pointed to the rocks he can use. "Uh, maybe I can use some of that while i'm up." Taking some for herself
Taking her advice and holds the flashlight under his armpit to fiddle with his pants with, not awre of Mirta taking a quick glance before walking to another direction, but saw some light shined outwards towards they green glow, unknown where it was coming from but vanished but found several glowing specs of light flying down towards them.
"What the?" She realised they were insects upon closer inspections. At first seem harmless, but more were coming towards Taren's flashlight.
"Hey, cut it out." Taren took notice of them, trying to swat them away. "Where are they com from?"
"Must be drawn but he light, least we know now." Mirta speculated when one of them touched the toilet rolll, it burst into flames and surprising the two. "Bugs that can cause fire?"
Startled, Taren threw it away, but they now saw more coming to the camp. "Oh that's not good."
"Gotta warn the others." She told him, wasting no time to run to the camp. Taren used Wind to blow the glowing insects away from he tents or anything flammable.
"Wake up! Everyone! Get out fo the tents!" Taren shouted.
Cid woke up, looking annoyed and tired, "can't a guy get any sleep?" His tent soon burst into flames, at least part of it, startling him and yelped. "What the?!"
Aqua worked up and alarmed. "This ain't good! Get get the fires out! Before they burn us to a crisp!"
Bloom jumped out of her tent, only in her pjs and swam the chaos. "Hang on, let me!" Concentrating on her magic to draw all the flames away from the camp, it also drew the flies to her as the flames soon swirled into an orb and vanished. However, they still have the bug problems.
Taren came to her help and extinguished the flames with his, while casting Wind and water spells to put them out. Saving the camp from the flames.
"That was close." Layla sighs, relieved there was no serious injuries at least.
"AHHHH!" They hear a girlish scream coming from the tent belonging to Neil, showing his face in soot, much to his horror. "Look what happened it my beautiful face! Oh, this is a disaster!"
Flora rolled her eyes and walked over to him, using a cup of water to splash the soot off him. "It's just some soot, you'll be fine."
Archie was putting out the fires as he can with a blanket. "That might have solved our problems, but think we better get out fo here, fast before more of them come back."
"No arguments here!" Cid was already getting the vehicles ready and climbed in. "Grab the stuff and let's move!"
The group gathered their belongings and made their way to the bridge to reach their destination, all seems to be going fine and out of danger... little did they realise, they were still in danger. Ventus' keen eyes saw something flying fast and heading straight towards them, too fast to be those light flies and too big.
"Cid! Look out!"
Too late to warn the mechanic when the section of the bridge was hit before they could reach the other side. The bridge was starting to weaken, falling apart with everyone feeling the bridge collapsing. The Winx girls used their magic to create a protective dome around everyone as they can, Ventus and Aqua tried to pull the vehicles to safety, yet they had no energy to do so and dragged down to the pit below them. Jay clutches to Theresa to his chest without thinking, whilst Taren saw Flora and Bloom using much of their magic ot help others, he saw Mirta fell and grabbed her in his arms to prvent her getting hurt while he took the impact as the vehicles crashed.