Hi Ho, everyone. I know it's been a while since I updated this story, but I had writer's block on what to do next. That and drawing refs for Mechs is not easy. But I will happily continue to update this story so long as there are more reviews.
Please enjoy.
Aquatopia
Chapter 3: Attack on Lighthouse Island
Later that Night Ash was sleeping soundly in his cot, while Max was looking at the new katana that he had asked Aribus to forge for him. When asked what sword he liked, it was a Katana. Though both Raliya and Aribus, even Ash, were a bit confused on what he was referring to. So he helped Aribus with the forging, and the keeper of the lighthouse was impressed at the detail and craftsmanship of the methods. A sword that could cut, but the blunt end durable and flexible for blocking. Even Raliya was a bit impressed and never heard of it. He looked to the sleeping Ash and saw on him a small broad sword big enough for him. He had to admit, it was nice for the kid to get what he wanted.
'Raliya is right. The kid is brave but a little too reckless,' Max thought to himself, 'But I think everyone was like that once in their lives. Even me.'
"That's a nice sword, I must admit," Raliya said, without her leggings at the doorway, leaning on it with her hands behind her back and smiling.
"Thank you," Max replied with a smile, "I've always wanted one of these myself. Though I wish it didn't almost being eaten to get it."
Raliya then sat down next to him, scooting over, as she asked, "So. I'm guessing this means you wish to ask me to train you as a knight?"
Max felt she was getting a bit too full of herself on all this, and decided to throw one at her, "Well, I was gonna ask if I could be your first."
Raliya's face turned red at that as she realized what Max had said. "Not in this life time, you pervert," she exclaimed in embarrassment.
"I meant your first kiss," Max joked.
All the anger she felt faded and became simple embarrassment as she shied away. "Oh... I see. Well I wouldn't give my first kiss away that easily," Raliya said in defiance, "As a knight, a fellow knight must earn the privilege of receiving one's first kiss."
'She may be a knight, but she thinks like a princess,' Max thought in exhaustion. But then Max realized something, "Wait. You mean you've never been kissed? Ever? Not even a puppy love kiss on the nose or the cheek? From a boy at that age?"
"A person's first kiss must not be very respected where you're from," Raliya replied, "Someone's first kiss is considered a sacred treasure."
Max's face frowned, as he asked, "So in other words, If I kissed you, I'd be the first kiss you've ever had. Seriously? That's kinda lame."
'Why is it that everything he says somehow makes me angry,' Raliya thought to herself in anger, 'It's like he knows which buttons set me off after just meeting me today.'
Max sighed, as he laid down, smirking, "I already had my first kiss at ten."
"You're first kiss," Raliya exclaimed in shock, "When you were only ten years of age!?" Her mind raced with thoughts about this new stranger. 'How can this be!? Do people of his world seek marriage partners when they haven't become teenagers,' Raliya thought in alarm, 'What kind of world does he come from and what must the population be like?!' She began to imagine Max's world full of people to the point of being overcrowded with children already dating each other. The demand of food was high and supplies were low due to the overpopulation. Schools were filled to capacity with students including siblings who attended the same school. Jobs opportunities would be low due to millions of people filling in the spots leading to thousands of homeless individuals. To Raliya, it sounded like a horrible place to live as she paled at the mental image of Max's world in her head. 'Did he get transported here by accident or did he escape from there,' Raliya thought to her self in sympathy.
Max blushed as he scratched the back of his head, "It was... kind of a playful thing there. I mean I knew Kim had a crush on me back then. And we just wanted to see if we both felt the same, and so we tested it by kissing."
All of Raliya's panicking faded away as she looked at Max for his reason for kissing another girl. "I see. Sounds like a waste though," Raliya said trying to sound wise, "The idea of sharing one's first kiss while not knowing what it feels like adds surprise to it."
But then Max grimaced, "But to be fair, Kim was... is... kind of a scatterbrained klutz."
"It... Sounds like you know her very well," Raliya said while feeling a little bit jealous while not knowing why.
Max sweatdropped and looked tired, as he stated, "It was... kind of an understatement."
Flashback
Kim winning DnD and jumping on the table, only for her to fall down with the table crashing.
Peter Pan play with her working on special effects, but playing a game, while Max was forced to swing around like a maniac.
Then when he was finally relaxing and reading a book about marine life, news reports of a snake outbreak in the zoo was heard, and that a black-haired Asian girl was walking in not noticing, as he panicked and ran to the zoo.
Present
"I had to go through a lot of de-toxing after that," Max grimaced, remembering all that.
Raliya looked at Max at that last part. 'Toxin de-toxing? What activity could they have been doing that involved poisonous creatures,' Raliya thought to herself in fear.
"I swear if she wasn't my friend, I'd like her klutzy scatterbrained ways just end her," Max groaned, with an exhausted smirk.
"You wouldn't let that happen even if she wasn't your friend," Raliya said with a smirk on her face.
"What makes you think that," Max asked her.
"You saved Ash and me from the Shadow Leviathan and the day before," she answered in a confident tone of voice, "Even after that little accident this morning, you could've left us to our fate. But you came back. That's why I think you'd try to save her even if she wasn't your friend."
Max sighed as he smirked, "True. But you haven't been friends with someone like her since you were six." Max blinked, "Did you ever have a friend like that?"
"Maybe not a friend, but I can think of a few fellow knights in training that tend to lose focus on their training," Raliya said remembering how some recruits fell behind training and were reprimanded for it.
Max thought on this girl, having a social life, as he then teased, "Any of them ever catch your fancy? A boy, girl? maybe both?"
"Not in the least," Raliya replied.
"So you dont' know if you're into guys, girls or both? Man, that's a lot of questioning in your sexual preferences," Max teased.
Though while the two teens were talking, Aribus was observing them, and thought to himself, 'Hmmmm, maybe... maybe these two can help my son...'
Late That Night
Aribus was walking outside of the lighthouse and heading to the edge of the island. He then got to the ledge, and took a mighty dive right in to the waters. He swam and swam down, always keeping track of the island's side, until he found an underwater entrance and swam right in. Once he got in further, it seemed darkened a bit, but then lit up due to bio reefs and bio-illuminescent fish as they kept inside, while he swam deeper in. Until he saw a light from what could be described as a moon pool, as he got up and breached the surface, with only his head and shoulders sticking out. He looked ahead to see what he had been going to find.
Before him, sitting down in a huge cavern was a might Titan Knight armor suit. Only it didn't look anything like Raliya's suit.
It was big and almost a few centimeters taller than her own. Though unlike her, its limbs weren't skinny but bulky to match its torso. Its shoulders had two broadshaped plating as well as its bulky forearms with its strong hind legs making its way to her, with armor plating on the thighs and knees, all looking like Bone Shark parts. On its back was a big cannon-like structure and a bigger sword on the right side, while at the back of its waist was a blue cape shawl.
Aribus stared at the mech in silence. Here was what he had been looking for. Aribus then pulled himself out as he looked at the long-forgotten Titan, as he said, "But... I need to be certain, Lady Raliya... if you are worthy to train my son."
2 Weeks Later
It had been two weeks since Raliya and Max had shown up around the island. Max was slighlty adjusting to the lifestyle of the island. Max had been helping out with Ashika on the fishing, while with Lady Raliya, she had also been showing Ashika on swordsmanship and the code of being a Knight. And at times, the boy would be regaled on stories from each of the teens of their lives. Though when it came to Max and Raliya... things were slightly rough. Mostly because Max wasn't showing up on sword practice, mostly to have her evaluate on his skills. It irked the lady so. And Aribus had been disappearing most of the time. He would either look after his beloved 'wife', work on the two Shadow Leviathan teeth swords for both boys, or he'd disappear on occasion. He was almost never seen at all.
At the moment, Raliya was looking around the beach for Max.
"Max! No escaping training this time," Raliya called out as she looked for him, "Where are you!? If you don't come out, you won't be having supper until you do one thousand sword swings!"
Ashika, who was sitting at a fishing pole, looked to Raliya and said, "I think he said he wanted to explore underwater." He then pointed to a pile of folded up clothes, "He even asked me if I could watch his stuff."
Raliya growled in anger.
"That's all he's been doing all week," Raliya exclaimed in anger, "He seems to be more of an explorer than a knight!"
"Shouldn't a knight be aware of their surrounding as well," Ashika asked Raliya, "I mean, a knight should be able to use their surroundings in battle as well?"
"Using the environment in battle and showing up for training are two different things," Raliya argued as she felt disrespected by Max's lack of attendance, "If he did this sort of thing to one of my instructors, he would be receiving far worse punishments!"
Ashika thought on that, as he mumbled, "I dunno. Max seemed to wanna do that environment thing very seriously." But then said, "But he's not far, if you wanna swim after him."
"If I can get him to train like he asked, I would. But I don't know where he is," Raliya replied as she knew searching for him would be a waste as she didn't exactly where he was at the moment, "But I can follow him tomorrow morning before he runs off! I'll just wait outside in the morning and stop him from wandering off!"
Though at the moment, they both heard water being crashed above, as they also heard Max's voice, as he was climbing up the rocky path, "There's more caves under the island, Ash. It's nuts." He managed to get up, as he said, "You could find a number of them, but I can't go any furhter without..." but then he stood up, as he saw not only Ash fishing... but a stern and miffed Raliya standing before him, as he finished, "... light."
"So there you are! I've been looking all over the island for you," Raliya exclaimed angerly at Max as she marched towards him, "You asked me to train you as a knight and instead, you go play explorer! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drop you as a knight in training!"
"I don't recall being asked to be trained," Max said.
"You asked to be a knight in training," Raliya answered, "And one of the duties of a knight in training is to train!"
"Oh," Max said as he thought carefully. And then half smirked, "Oh no, I was joking about that. I'm guessing you don't know about jokes much, do you?"
Raliya's face went red from a mix of embarrassment and anger.
"Knights don't make jokes," Raliya said while looking away, "We're serious and prepared for anything!"
Max then asked, "Then I take it you've never had a drink with friends at all with other knight trainees?"
"Knights in training are prohibited from drinking," Raliya answered, "They're up at the crack of dawn for training and missions."
Max blinked, while still being shirtless, "Wow. Being a knight kinda sucks."
"It's a position that requires one to devote all they have to it," Raliya explained, "I went through the same training and rose to the rank I am now. We fight in the name of our nation and it's people."
Max then arched an eyebrow, "Wow. Guess not much in the way of socializing." He then half-smirked, as he pointed out the obviousness, "You're not even flusterd to see a guy without his shirt on."
"I'm currently too anger to even... consider," Raliya began to say in anger before he face softened as she began to notice Max's shirtless body.
Suddenly, her vision was filled with a pink aura and sparkles as she notice the well toned body of Max as all the anger she was feeling faded away as she stared with lust in her eyes.
'Ooooooh... Six pack,' Raliya thought while staring with a thirsty expression.
"Ah, there it is," Max said to himself as he had seen plenty of anime and knew this was going to happen.
Ash blinked in confusion, as he asked, "What's wrong with her?"
Max sighed as he looked to Ashika and answered, "When you're our age, small muscle, and a girl like Raliya who hasn't seen a guy half-naked her age, you'll understand."
Ash looked at Raliya continuing to stare and back at Max in confusion. 'Maybe I don't want to,' Ash thought to himself as he still didn't get it.
Suddenly, a huge splash caught their attention. At first, they figured it was Spot, breaching a bit like Orca Whales did, but it was another Glow Whale. But this time, it had on an unfamiliar Titan Armor riding on it... and comically flailing about as the whale crashed in the water. Apparently the whale was breaching in playful moments. Much to the Knight's expense. But the trio snapped out of it, and thankfully for Raliya as she realized what she had been doing. Though finally the whale reached shore, as the blue Bone Shark-designed Titan wobbled on strong legs ashore, as the owner inside spoke.
"A KNIGHT," he said as he pointed at them, "Aaaaah! From the looks of it, I'd say you're not even fully a knight at all. A greenhorn at best." He then cackled out loud, as the unknown figure bellowed out, "How pitiful! And here I expected a challenge."
Max looked to Raliya as he asked, "Friend of yours?"
Raliya stared at the new face with a stern expression.
"No, I'm afraid no," Raliya replied looking as though she didn't want to see the person before the group.
"I AM KNOWN AS THE BONE SHARK KNIGHT," he declared loudly and proudly, as he went on, pointing at Raliya, "And I CHALLENGE YOU, KNIGHT... TO A DUEL!"
Raliya groaned as she knew this was going to happen.
"Of all the knights to come, why him," Raliya said as she didn't need this now.
"Uh... So is this guy a good guy," Ash asked nervously, "Because he doesn't seem to be."
"He's a fellow knight, but he loves to fight," Raliya explained, "Whenever he doesn't have a mission, he goes around fighting any knights he can find to kill time. According to him, it's what he considers his version of training."
Though Max arched an eyebrow, as something in the voice was familiar... and then asked, "Aribus? Is that you in there?"
But Raliya looked surprise at that, while Ashika looked confused and clueless. Though the knight inside quickly shook it off as he said, "Ah no! Of course not. I AM THE BONE SHARK KNIGHT!"
Max arched an eyebrow, as he gently put an arm around Raliya, as he said, "Excuse us, for one moment? Thank you." He then pulled Raliya out of earshot and whispered, "It's gotta be Aribus in there."
"Now that I think about it, they do have similar voices," Raliya replied noticing Ash's father and the Bone Shark Knight sounded similar, "But if that's true, why would he start attacking us now?"
"I'm not sure, but I didn't see him this morning before I left to explore," Max continued, "So this might be him."
"But this still doesn't explain why he's doing this," Raliya said, sounding more and more confused.
Max thought on it, and said, "Well, this is just a guess, but maybe he's trying to test you."
"It does line up with the Bone Shark Knight's tendency to hunt down other knights to fight," Raliya said in agreement, "I guess he's trying to hide his identity."
"So... what are you going to do," Max asked her as the two continued to whisper to avoid Ash from hearing them.
"I admit though, I thought Aribus was eccentric for a hermit," Raliya said, but then looked uncertain, "I never expected him to be a knight."
"WHAT'S WRONG? WHY DO YOU HESITATE? DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE A COWARDLY APPRENTICE! IF YOU DON'T ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE..." the Titan announced, as he pointed to Ashika, "I WILL MAKE THIS BOY MY PERSONAL SLAVE!"
Ashika panicked and teared up, clutching his head, "Noo! I don't wanna be a slave to this scary knight!"
Raliya and Max tensed up from hearing that. Rationally speaking, if the Bone Shark Knight was Aribus, he wouldn't really enslave his own son. But things would look bad if they didn't react to the threat towards Ashika.
"You bastard," Raliya shouted in anger as she pulled away from Max and glared at the Bone Shark Knight, "You dare threaten a defenseless boy?! Where is your honor as a knight!?"
"Well, if that won't work then how about this," the Knight said, as he pointed to Ashika, "If you won't fight me, I'll take the boy as my slave..." and then pointed to Raliya and Max, "And I shall force you to make love with this commoner for a whole week."
Raliya was fired up as she drew out her sword, as she had a fire in her eyes, "I swear I will defeat you with all that I have!"
Max sweatdropped, as he asked himself, "Is being with me that big of a punishment?"
"Shut your mouth and defend Ash," Raliya shouted at Max in rage.
Max was taken aback by Raliya's anger as he nodded nervously.
Moments of Preparation Later
Raliya was on Spot as she was also in her Titan Armor. Out at sea, she and the Bone Shark Knight were on their steeds and in the water, with the two boys watching afar, but were able to speak out to, as Ashika shouted out, "Lady Raliya!"
Max waved, "Kick his ass!"
Raliya didn't react as she glared at the Bone Shark Knight in his Titan Armor. The two squared off against each other as they prepared for battle.
But she did call out to the two boys, and said, "Witness how a knight enters battle." But innerly, she was fretting on this, 'Ugh, this is my first real battle. A real one since I started this journey.' She sweatdropped as she thought back, 'Back at the Academy on my islands, I was undefeated...' but then clenched her fists on the controls, 'And I'm not about to now... because... If I do...'
Max and Raliya were in bed together, he was sitting while she sat on his lap, her arms around his neck while his hands gently held her hips. Blankets covering the bottom half while her legs stuck out and her hair down. She warmly looked into his eyes and into hers. And the two leaned in...
And then Raliya snapped back in reality again. Her face turned red from embarrassment as she felt her blood boil in anger.
'Never... I won't allow myself to spend a week in bed with that man,' Raliya thought in determination, 'As a knight, I will not allow myself to be defeated!'
"ARE YOU READY," The Bone Knight called out asking.
"A knight is always ready," Raliya answered in a determined tone as she draw her weapon, "You should know that better than anyone else!"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT," the Bone Knight answered enthusiastically.
Both charged their whales at each other, Raliya's mighty sword drawn, while the Bone Knight drew out a broad sword with shark teeth bits on it to make it look like a kind of chainsaw. Raliya was heavily confident in her swordsmanship. She had endured rigorous training to master counter techniques. A knight's basic attack was to swing downward with their sword. Building great power and speed at the moment of impact. But Raliya's technique was to counterattack at the precise moment the opponent's blade it began to come down... parrying the attack before it could build momentum.
Then when her adversary was cut off balance, Raliya would strike at the back of the opponent's head. This technique enabled her to defeat dozens of male knights, despite their great size and strength. And it would happen again.
As the Bone Knight was reaching in, he grew his blade up from his left and was prepared to go down with it.
'There,' Raliya thought as she prepared for the attack.
Raliya drew her sword out, and did what she did dozens of times. But the second her sword clashed with his, both were shoved back from the impact. The Bone Shark Knight was almost thrown off his steed, as he passed Raliya. She almost fell back as well, in total shock of what just happened.
She blinked at this as she held to the controls, "What was that?" She steadied herself, as she was still shaking from this reel, "I've never felt such a powerful attack. I was still knocked back, even when I struck first." She looked on the monitors as her Titan turned to see the knight righting themselves, and smiled, "Lord Aribus... you truly are a real knight."
Ashika cried out from the shores, "Lady Raliya! Please don't lose!"
"You got this," Max shot out. "You're lighter, but that means you're faster than he is!"
"And if you lose, you'll be forced to be Max's mate," Ashika cried out in a panic.
Max sweatdropped again as he groaned, "Why is that a punishment?"
The Bone Knight, in reality Aribus, stood up on his steed as he held out both his arms, shouting out from his cockpit, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! MY DAYS OF GLORY AND HONOR HAVE LONG SINCE RETURNED!" He then looked at Raliya from afar, as he said, "'TIS A GREAT PLEASURE TO WIELD MY SWORD AND SHIELD ONCE AGAIN!" And then dived down below.
Raliya then followed too, as she and her Glow Whale dived down to meet them underwater.
The two whales entered the depths of the ocean, but the vision of both warriors were impaired by the countless bubbles from the whales entering the depths. Soon, that changed as the bubbles faded and the two saw each other in the water with the sunlight providing some visibility.
'He's incredible strong,' Raliya thought to herself, 'I only saw him fight once on land. But I don't know how he fights underwater. I can't make a single mistake!'
Raliya smiled at this, eager to do battle with him, "You seem to be warming up to your work, Aribus." But then she smiled determined to win this, "But for the reputation of my family... I shall not lose this battle!"
Back on the Surface
The two boys were confused on what would be seen, but couldn't make out anything, as Ashika panicked, "Oooh Father! Where are you at a time like this"!"
Max though turned to look at the lighthouse, and then knowing they couldn't see the fight, looked to the boy and asked, "Wanna look in the tower for him?"
Ashika then changed his fear to happiness as he said, "Okay, let's go." And both went to the lighthouse to 'find' him.
Meanwhile
Below the Water
The two were on their steeds, swimming in battle, trading blow after blow while riding and gliding within the water, either above, below or at each other. At the moment, the two were racing side-by-side on who would strike next. Raliya was on the right side, as she readied a blow to him, "I'm on the right side. I have an advantage to this." And then swung her sword at him. Though unfortunately, he barrel rolled the blow, dodging the swipe as a result.
Though as he turned to her direction, he had his sword out as she paled, "Oh No!" And used both her arms to block the blow.
"DON'T ASSUME YOU'VE WON UNTIL YOUR OPPONENT IS DEFEATED," Bone Shark Knight shouted as he launched forward about to strike, "UNTIL THEN, NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN NEWBIE!"
Raliya blocked the attack but she was pushed back from the impact as she tried to steady herself even while underwater.
"Great, I lost the first strike, and now I'm on the defensive," Raliya groaned to herself, "And though I hate to admit it... his skills as a knight are greater."
Inside the Bone Shark Knight's cockpit, the interior was a bit worn and unclean, but Aribus was enjoying this duel, "HAHAHAHHA! Bet they never taught this stuff at the Academy! That's what life and experience can teach you mo..." but before he could finish, he felt tentacles on top his head. "Eh?" And looked up to see a blue octopus... that then latched itself on his face angrily.
Before she did anything, she saw the Titan Knight began to flail and stop a bit as inside, she was unaware of what was going on.
"What's going on," Raliya said to herself, "Is he having technical difficulties or something?"
But she clenched the controls, as she said, "Doesn't matter. I have to use this chance to turn the tide of battle in my favor." She charged at him, and began to throw bash and strike attacks at him... all while crying out in her cockpit, "You meanie! MEANIE MEANIMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEMEANIEE MEANIE MEANIE MEANIE MEANIE!"
Aribus tried to get her off, but the Octopus on his face, agitated from having his 'home' invaded, wasn't letting up.
Meanwhile
In the tower of the Lighthouse, Ashika was watching the battle from afar, as he blinked, "Wow.." and then smiled, "That looks like Fun!"
"Speaking of fun, Ash," Max said as he was at the door of Aribus's room, "Can you help me with this door?"
"You want to go into my dad's room," Ashika asked in alarm, "We can't do that! He told me to never enter his room!"
Max smirked, "Oh now we have to check it out." He looked to the door, "If someone says there's something behind the door you shouldn't know about, you have to see it." And reached for the knob.
"But what about Raliya," Ashika asked, "Shouldn't we be watching her battle?"
"They're underwater, I doubt we can see much," Max said, as he gently reached the door.
But Ashika got in front of it, as he looked up to him in a panic, "NO! Father's room is not...!" But fell back as he leaned on the door, only for it to open and him crashing in.
"Not locked, apparently," Max said and stepped in.
But as he did, he and Ashika got a good look at the place. It looked like a storage bin of sorts with an assortment of things. On one side was a work bench alongside a forge with weapons and armor pieces, and with other things that Max never noticed. And on the other side, which he could tell was a bed, were also long-forgotten things. Paintings or clothing, stuff you wouldn't see in a lighthouse or to a man that wore a loincloth alongside his son. Max though walked over to the workbench as he looked around it, while Ashika was still freaking out.
Max looked over at the table and saw a blue glove with a dial similar to what Raliya had on her gloves. He picked it up as he slipped it on his left hand, and asked, "Say, Ashika? What did your dad do before he came to the island? Did he ever say?"
Ashika looked at Max in surprise, "Ummm, I actually don't know," Ashika answered, "I never asked him... No, rather I never thought to ask him." I
t was at that moment that Ashika never really asked about his father's past. The only thing he knew about was his life with his dad maintaining the lighthouse. It made Ashika feel sad that he never took the time to get to know his dad.
He then looked at a draped object, as he pulled it open, to reveal a sight. It was the Shadow Leviathan blades that Aribus had worked on. One of them was a short sword with a curved tip, a swashbuckler blade, while the other was a long think but strong-looking katana blade. Max smiled as he remembered his time with Aribus in the forge.
Weeks Ago
Aribus was outside as he was looking at a drawing of Max's sword in choice. "So let me see if I have this straight..." and pointed at the sword, "This is what you would like me to forge for you? Doesn't seem strong."
"Well, actually, it's strong as it's forged 10 times over with every strike and forging," Max explained.
"10 TIMES! THAT'S A LOT OF FORGING," Aribus said as he blinked.
"Yeah, I mean back then they thought it had to be done 50 times, but they found out it was only 10," Max explained, as he also pointed the details, "While the forging is being done, the back side of the blade is coated in thick lacquer to give the blade dexterity while the sharp end is folded to be sharp enough."
Aribus then seemed to get it down, as he nodded, "I see. So the base point is the blade is strong and sharp, while the back is flexible. Interesting."
Present
Max gently held the sword in hand, as he smiled, "He got it right on the first go."
Ashika stared at the blade in Max's hand. He could tell it was a well-crafted sword just from looking at it. Plus, he never knew his father was a craftsman when it came to swords. Though he had seen swords, like Raliya's and to be honest... this blade look like it would break.
"Uh Max... I hate to say this but that blade looks like it could break on the first strike," Ashika told him, "Plus, you're not thinking of interfering in that fight are you?"
Max arched an eyebrow, "What? No, I can't fight in that. I can't breathe underwater or dive down that deep. I'm just inspecting and admiring the craftsmanshi..." but then blinked as he pointed, "Um, Ash... you need to see that."
The young man looked behind him as he saw what Max found. It was an old painting, but it showed a portrait of someone of knightdom. Two of them. One looked to be a gentleman with short red hair graying on the sides with a trimmed beard, and wearing red and white dive armor, while the fellow on the right, a bit more bulky, wearing dark blue and gray dive armor, tan skin, and looked to be like a buffer older version of Ashika... while also sporting the same facial scar as his father.
Ashika stared in shock at the sight at the painting. "That's... That's my dad," Ashika said in astonishment, "There's no doubt in my mind that's him! But I don't know who the other man is. I've never seen him before."
Max looked at the portrait for any idea on who it was, but something caught his eye, as he pointed to it, "I think there might be a clue."
Ash looked to where Max was pointing to, and saw he too wore a shawl or cape like Lady Raliya had. And on it was the same insignia that was on hers. A Yellow seashell pointing out like a rising sun.
"Could that be Raliya's father or uncle," Ashika asked out loud in surprise, "Wait! Does that mean my dad is connected to the knights?! But he never said anything about it! Now that I asked, but still! This is huge!"
"And if he is connected to the Knights, why is he here on an island far out here," Max arched an eyebrow. Another mystery for this young man, aside from how he got here and how to get back, was now in front of him.
Meanwhile
The two were locked in battle below the ocean, and at the moment, both were at a bitter stalemate.
Raliya continued to try and end the fight, but the Bone Shark Knight kept holding her off despite the octopus obscuring his view. The two were now at the bottom of the ocean further decreasing their visibility. They only had the lights on their titans to pierce through the darkness around them making it hard for either of them to move without being seen by the other.
Despite being seated, Raliya was a bit out of breath, the battle was nerve-wracking on her, as she blinked, "You, Aribus sir... are an amazing fighter. But while on foot, I can still hold my own." In Aribus's seat, he was still trying to get the miffed off octopus off of him. Apparently, the octopus made residence in the suit, and Aribus was seen as an intruder, as he groaned, "I had no idea you took residence," Aribus said, as he prepared for battle, "But for now... I'm a houseguest at this point." The two parried and slashed at each other, running to one another. But oddly enough, Raliya's armor was going faster with the blows, so fast that Aribus wasn't able to block or dodge at all. Even Aribus noticed this as he managed to back away, as he thought, "Even at this pressure and depth, she moves so fast."
Aribus continued to block Raliya's attacks despite her increase in speed. 'I don't know how she's boosting her speed, but it must be taking a toll on her and her titan,' Aribus thought to himself, 'I just have to outlast her!'
Raliya did know that as well, as she was looking at her Titan's stats and saw that they were slowly wearing out the air supply. "My technique though of Heart of Ice, and Body of Fire is working, but the Titan can't take much more of it." The Technique of her speed was in the way of how she used her shield. By moving the shield like an oar, she was able to create thrust and propel herself underwater. And with her thumb and pinky, Raliya could use her sword like a lever; striking whiplike, without even taking a swing. In any battle between Aqua Knights, the Titans' weak points were prime targets: Cockpit, the joints, or the intake ports. If the Intake ports were damaged, the suit would lose air. The Emergency Release Bolt (between the legs) would cause the cockpit to open automatically.. but would be a tremendous insult to the pilot, not the opponent. But the biggest weak point nobody ever thinks about... are the arms. The arms, or gauntlets, are a delicate system in which if damaged, could disable the knight's ability to fight.
Raliya steadied herself as she prepared to fight, as she said, "Aribus... there are three things that I despise." She charged at him, as he prepared to strike, but she jabbed at his right, as she said, "LIGHTNING!" She pulled back as he swung down, sliding on the sand as she said, "UNFAIR CONDUCT!" Aribus's Titan charged at her, as she said, "And most of all..." Aribus brought his sword up as he charged, while she prepared to thrust forward, as she shouted, "... DEFEAT!"
But Aribus stopped as his Titan looked ahead with flood lights, "By the Gods... what is that thing?!"
Raliya blinked, "What in the name of the Gods is that?!"
From out of the darkness, a large metal ball appeared before Aribus as they jumped out of the way. Both knights was almost blinded by the titan's flood lights reflecting off the metal sphere. As they moved away, they were able to see what was connected to the large metal sphere.
The two tried to run as fast as they could, but they ended up getting rolled over.
Back on the Surface
The two boys still in the tower, heard a rumbling sound as they looked to the outside and saw something coming to land in the distance. It was a bronze metal ship, possibly a kind of Yacht cruise ship of sorts. The ship was also detailed with gold and white metal structures and patterns, as the nose stuck forward of the ship with two anchors at it. The shop had the hull as the main deck, but also seemed to have a large secondary deck, while the top bridge was that of a house sized structure, with six pipe tails sticking out in the back. It almost looked like a massive speed boat with top floors, but what Max saw was only startlement. The ship came out of the water floating with a ball sized hull in the middle of the bottom, while it was propelled by what appeared to be a metal ball wheel driving it close up the land.
Max blinked, "What the...?"
"I really hope that's a regular ship that just stops for supplies," Max asked Ashiki who shook his head no, "I didn't think so. We better get down there, fast!"
"I never saw a ship before," Ashika said, as he looked in awe, "Can they even fly?"
"In this world... maybe," Max said.
On the Bridge
A man walked from the shadows as he stood at the light, full in thought. He was a statuesque of a man at 29, big but not fat. Despite his size he was a rather capable being. He had a handsome face with blue eyes, light blonde hair done in a style that made his hair look like a hammerhead's head, but had two antenna bangs in front. He wore a white Victorian shirt with brown pants that had grown kneepad like designs, with black boots with black buckle guards on his ankles and gold buckles on the front, while he also wore a light brown jacket with long coat tails, brown shoulder pads and sides on the sleeves with brown cuffs, and a hood-like collar on them.
He smiled as he said, "It's been a year since we left the Antipodes Continent, and came here to this undiscovered and uncivilized world of Metitrannos..." He then pumped his fists forward as he smiled, "But now... I've finally found the means of achieving my goal... to creating the ELIXIR OF LIFE!"
Suddenly, behind the man a bolt of lightning flashed behind him as thought the very forces of nature were responding to his dramatic moment of victory.
It had somewhat lit up the bridge showing he was on a platform with a captain's chair and water-based compass like they would have on a keychain, but on a platform table before them with nautical navigation gear. At the nose of the bridge was the Helmsmann with an old-fashioned ship steering wheel. He was an African American man of 40s, build of medium muscle, bald with brown eyes, and had a thick black beard. He was wearing blue pants with dark blue padding on the knees, with black boots, while wearing a wet turtleneck shirt with short sleeves, colored white with blue trim on the collar, sleeves, and one stripe going down the right side of the front while wearing a blue cap, and having black gloves on. This was Holland the Helmsmann of the Albatross.
On his left, working at communications was an eighteen-year-old Caucasian female with a slender build, green eyes, and auburn orange hair done in a bun, and wore a green and white dress that went down to her feet, while she had puffy shoulders with the sleeves were skin-tight and had black collars around the wrists, with black gloves on. She had a black corseted on, while her chest was covered in a black turtleneck, and had a golden hairband atop her head. This was Hilde, one of Alucardus's minions and the communications officer, as well as a maid aboard the ship.
Holland took a gander at the lighthouse, and spotted the two boys, "Hate to ruin the big speech, captain, but it seems this island isn't as uninhabited as we were told while finding it."
Alucardus arched an eyebrow, as he asked, "What?"
"Yeah, one teen and one boy," Holland said though arched an eyebrow, "Though the teen's wearing funny clothing."
Alucardus arched an eyebrow, as he calmed a bit, and took a large silver gray divider as big as half his body, and drew behind his platform, a circle. He seemed to get great shivers form it, as he sighed in relief.
"You know, in my city of Pildur, knowledge was considered the greatest of joys and perfections," Alucardus mused, as Holland sighed, while Hilde giggled at the man's pleasures, "An artist was asked by the Pope of the land he hailed from, to draw a perfect circle. And he did. A perfect circle tells a lot about itself in flawlessness." But then he slouched, "Though I have Krowe as a reminder that not all is perfect. And another imperfection are unexpected surprises.." but then shrugged, "Minus birthdays."
"And there he goes again about perfection and knowledge," Holland said to himself, "Uh... Captain, the people on the island."
Alucardus cleared his throat, as he walked over to a platform in the back, "Leave it to me. I will handle with them." He smirked, "After all... I don't detest children." He then pulled a lever on the platform, as it lowered down, going to the outside as it extended below the front. Both Max and Ash, who had grabbed the tarp with the swords in it, ran out to the top as the man before them kindly smiled, "Greetings. I am Alucardus. One of the humblest and greatest of the geniuses of the land known as Antipodes."
Ash lit up as he smiled, waving, "I'm Ashika!"
Alucardus smiled, as his mind raced, 'His eyes sparkle with curiosity and wonder... clearly an indication that his head is empty.' But then gandered to Max, 'This one... hmmmm, a bit more clever, but I don't think he'll see what I have to say coming.' he then cleared his throat, and asked, "Tell me, Blue haired fellow..." then the big question came, "... Do you hail from another world?"
Max looked stunned by Alucardus' question. 'He realized that just from looking at me,' Max thought in surprise as it had taken a little bit to convince Raliya when they first met, 'I don't know whether to be impressed or a little freaked out.'
"What if my answer was yes," Max asked Alucardus as he wasn't sure what sort of reaction he would get from the captain of the ship before him and Ash.
Alucardus arched an eyebrow as he smirked, "Well, before that, I would like to ask..." He took his Divider like a pointing laser, pointing to the lighthouse, "Are you two the owners of the Lighthouse?"
"No," Max answered.
Ashika shook his head, "No, but my Father is the King here."
"Really," Alucardus asked as he had a tray of mini donuts for him to snack on, "And... where is your father?"
Ashika shook his head, as he answered, "I don't really know."
"He's out fishing," Max replied, "It'll take him a while to get back with our friend, Raliya. Who is an Aqua Knight."
"A knight you say," Alucardus asked in surprise.
"What's a knight doing all the way out here of all places," Holland asked out loud, "They're supposed to be stationed at the kingdom."
"Maybe this one went AWOL or she's looking for the Elixir of Life like we are," Hilde suggested.
"Preposterous! No one from the kingdoms except for me could have determined that the elixir is here," Alucardus declared, "This 'knight' must surely have gone AWOL! Regardless, I won't allow anyone else to get the elixir! NOBODY!"
Both boys were perplexed, until Alucardus dangled a donut on a string down to their level. Enough to have Ashika look at it and drool. He then went all dog style and jumped at it, biting to eat it... until Alucardus yanked it up a bit, and let it dangle again. He proceeded to do this just as much as Ashika kept going at it like a cat playing with one of those mouse toys on a string.
Max sweatdropped at this as he thought, 'This is just... I can't even think of what to say about this.'
Alucardus laughed a bit at this enjoyment of a show, "Oh this was hilarious at best." But then yanked the donut out as Ashika pouted, while Alucardus declared, "But enough fun and games... IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION! KROWE!"
Suddenly a black figure jumped from the bridge of the ship, spinning like a corkscrew, as he jammed something at the top of the lighthouse. Both boys looked to see the object to be a flagpole with a golden and white flag bearing the insignia of a black dragon with its wings spread out standing on its feet. The figure who had done that was a lanky fellow with an arched back forward, Caucasian, with a bowl hair cut of silver blonde hair, his eyes darkened from shadow, with a grin on his face, and claw-like fingernails. He looked to be of Max's age, maybe a few years older, wearing black pants and pointy boots, with a black duster coat with black belts criss-crossing his chest with several throwing knives holstered to them. This was Krowe, an assassin and one of Alucardus's minions.
Alucardus howled in triumph, "I CLAIM THIS LAND IN THE NAME OF THE KINGDOM LAND OF PILDUR! IT SHALL FOREVER BE KNOWN AS PIL-ISLAND!"
"You can't claim this island! It's already claimed by Ashika's father," Max yelled at the mad scientist.
"YES I CAN," Alucardus shouted back, "THERE'S NO OTHER FLAG ON THIS ISLAND! THEREFORE, MY FLAG MAKES ME THE NEW OWNER OF THIS ISLAND! BESIDES, I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE'S FLAG ON THIS ISLAND!"
"THIS LIGHTHOUSE IS THE ONLY BUILDING ON THIS ISLAND! THAT'S PRACTICALLY SAYING THIS ISLAND IS TAKEN," Max argued as Ashika continued to play with the donut, "THAT MAKES THIS PRIVATE PROPERTY!"
"Well, if there is no king of this island here, than that makes me the sole owner," Alucardus replied, and then looked to Ashika, "And I like this one." He then snapped his finger, as Krowe threw a chain right at Ashika, with the end snapping around his neck revealing a collar, as the man pulled the startled boy away, as Alucardus stated, "So I'll keep him as well. I give him permission to be my pet! As long as you continue to amuse me, I shall keep you by my side. A life of Luxury is yours, Ashika!"
The boy tried to fight it back, as Krowe cackled, sounding like a crow in some weird way, while his tongue lashed out like a whip. Though Hilde, from the deck watched as she looked saddened at the boy's predicament, as Alucardus smiled basking in this victor, "Aaaaah, this is Perfection. The perfect invasion. Truly even in this untamed uncivilized corner of our world, this is a sign of true Pildur. So beautiful it is, my life... that I worship the Machine Gods of Science themselves."
Then suddenly, the chain that held Ashika was cut in two... by Max as he rushed in to slice it, making Krowe fall on the platform of the lighthouse they were on. All with his new Shadow Leviathan katana.
"NO WAY IN HELL I"'M JUST GOING TO STAND BY AND WACTH YOU ENSLAVE MY FRIEND YOU EGOTICSITC JERK," Max yelled while pointing his sword at the ship with a determined expression.
Alucardus arched an eyebrow at this young man, and said, "Ooh!? And I suppose you'll fight us all by yourself?"
Max knew that Alucardus had a good point. Max was on his own while Raliya was off fighting Ash's father. Not only did Max have to fight Alucardus and his team, but protect Ash as well. With only his swords, he was outmatched, but he wasn't about to let Alucardus do whatever he wanted just because he believed himself smart enough to own the island.
But little did he know, that this battle would be a rather large eye opener, as someone was on the nose of the ship, hidden by the light… and was awaiting to strike.
Next Chapter: Blades of Sea and Death
