Chapter 18
The Island Turtle, Shimagame
Maxwell held onto the handlebars for dear life!
"Max! Quit saying 'Man was not meant to fly!' Your subconscious is gusting up a storm in here!" Mordred yelled in his brain, but was oddly muted by the wind…
The last time he was in the sky was on their journey to Skypiea. Both times, going up and going down, Maxwell had thought he was going to die! First there was the Knock Up Stream, where they had to ride the supercharged geyser into the White Sea. …Apparently, there had been safer alternatives, to Nami's dismay. Then there was there departure… Maxwell was sure Gran Fall was having a kick out of them plummeting out of the sky! Sure, there was the balloon octopus, but he was lucky he didn't crap his pants during that!
Now, here he was, up in the air, actually flying on the wind! No boat, no passengers, just him in the open sky!
But Maxwell couldn't quite focus on the novelty of it. All he could do was steer the glider and hope the winds remain calm! Maxwell could feel the buffering of the winds, the whining of the propeller. He was laying on his stomach, feet hooked in a sling, and was miles up in the air. The mage was just leaving Maruchi, watching as the ocean stretched out for miles… It was actually quite beautiful…
"Okay, maybe this isn't so bad…!" Maxwell felt his heart steady.
The ocean looked like a glittering gem. A sheet of sparkling sapphire beneath the cerulean sky! It was like freedom! Like any direction was his to follow!
So this was a bird's-eye view! It was a wonder birds ever came down.
"Mr. Trevelyan!" Maxwell looked down to see Buzz and Roba rise into the air. Roba rode on Buzz's hybrid form, and the eagle-dog certainly looked comfortable. His wings outstretched, feathers tickling the wind. Buzz's hindlegs were brought up against his belly while his forepaws were outstretched, like fins on a fish. His tail caught the wind, stretching Buzz's body into a more aerodynamic shape, like a giant kite!
"Are you okay, my friend!?" Roba yelled against the wind. She had both hands nestled into the fur of Buzz's hump. The sleeves of her kimono were wrapped up so they wouldn't billow in the wind. And Roba's long tied hair flopped like a laundry line behind her.
"I'm fine Roba!" Maxwell yelled back. "You just focus on getting us to your island!"
Roba looked down, taking out the unique locket containing the turtle-pose. She looked at where the small reptile was swimming and spoke to Buzz, urging him on!
Being honest, Maxwell was glad he had Roba to guide him. He had no idea how he would be able to look at the compass without letting go of the steering… and accidentally dropping it. Weight distribution was a factor with this machine, and was sensitive to his movements. They seemed to be heading west, the sun shinning onto them.
It was like there was just the three of them up in the whole world. Roba on the back of her husband's magnificent beast! Maxwell daring convention in his enemies air machine! And Adelle flying like a little duckling behind—wait…
"ADELLE!?" Maxwell curved his neck to look below him, and sure enough, the second flying machine was following behind them. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP HERE!?"
"Adelle!" Maxwell could hear Roba's gasp above the wind. The tomboy looked like she was barely able to reach the handlebars, and much more forward in her harness! She was wearing what looked to be overalls and giant cap containing her hair.
"I'm coming with you!" Adelle shrieked into the gale. "I want to see your home, oba-chan!"
"Adelle, it's dangerous up here!" Buzz caught the wind so Roba could get closer to Adelle's glider.
"So what!? I survived 8 years in the depths of a pirate ship! This can't be any worse than that—! Wo-o-o-oah!"
Maxwell suddenly felt it too! A rogue wind was suddenly brushing against their flying machines, making the whole frame shake! The mage immediately went rigid, trying not to panic. Then he heard Buzz bark, indicating for them to follow!
The eagle-dog's wing caught the wind, suddenly rising higher into the sky! Maxwell angled his machine to do the same, letting the winds create an uplift! He could hear the wind as they spiralled upwards. Maxwell imagined them looking like a snake, winding and coiling up in the sky!
Buzz then suddenly dipped. It seems he he had reached the apex of the swell. The eagle dog folded his wings a bit, now looking like arrowhead, a dove!
Maxwell wasn't sure what possessed him then, but he cut out the engine, letting himself fall. He could feel the brief moment of lightness, as his head slowly began to look down!
His sense suddenly sharpened as he took in everything. The wind, the sky, the ocean, Buzz flying ahead of him! Everything for a single moment, was clear…!
Then Buzz stretched out his wings, and Maxwell engaged the engine again!
The propeller spun, and Maxwell pulled up, suddenly feeling the tailwind! …And soon, they were flying steady, like smooth sailing…
"YAHOO! Let's do that again!" Adelle suddenly yelled behind him. The mage had quickly turned his head to see that Adelle had properly followed them on their flight path.
"Hahahahaha!" Maxwell couldn't help it, he laughed! Leave it to a child to find the excitement in something no man had done before!
…Actually, no. Someone has done that before.
Feathers in the wind, like rakes against the sand, smooth and silent. Arms stretched as they take in the cool night air. His face warm as he surveyed the world beneath him. No demon, no teacher, just him, the wind, and the weight lifted in his mind…
Maxwell looked up at the propeller, "…I guess some things are you never forget."
He missing dreaming of being an owl. It felt like freedom being able to fly. No one watching or looking down on you. And demons overlooked the animal form, instead trying to find human targets. That avatar was lost to him when he had been revived in Alabasta.
"Are you two alright!?" Roba had tucked herself against Buzz's fur till now, and she had turned to make sure they were still up in the air. "Stay close! I don't want to lose either of you up here!"
"Yes ma'am!"
O O O
Schneider paced the room, still thinking about what happened in the courtyard. His son was still in the dungeon beneath Maruchi Castle.
His son… In jail… Because of him!
But, Ratchet had also seemed off…
"Will you quit pacing?" asked Saga, leaning against a wall. "You're going to make a dent in the floor at your rate." The swordsman had his arms crossed, waiting for something to happen.
"Well, what else am I supposed to do!" Schneider turned on the swordsman. "My family is in shambles! My son is madman. My wife is heading into danger! And the little girl she picked up is missing!"
Initially, after their confrontation, the two of them were going to head back to the Merveille Inn and wait it out there. Schneider had promised his wife to look after Adelle while she was away after all. (And Saga had nothing better to do.) Only problem was… Adelle wasn't at the inn.
Ever told them that Adelle had run out of the tavern after they left earlier… And, with her gone, Ever was also closing the bill on Maxwell's Spider's Parlour! Ever may have enjoyed Schneider's patronage over the years, but even she had a limit. The tavern owner had kicked them out, telling them not to come back until they found Adelle…
They asked around. No one had seen a girl, but they did see a strange boy running towards the castle. The wore overalls and had a rather large cap on their head.
Schneider recognized this as Adelle's worker outfit, when she was shovelling coal for the Gasparde Pirates. Roba had told him quite a bit about Adelle. She was determined to adopt her, regardless of his opinions.
So, they went to the castle, and saw that the other glider was gone!
They checked with the guards. No one had moved the craft into the castle. And it wasn't washed out into the lagoon either. That meant someone had taken it… and that person, may very well be Adelle.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Cello heard about their plight and offered them a stay in the castle. And they were welcome there until either Maxwell returned, or the Navy arrived with their taskforce.
The two of them were being hosted in the guest wing, likely the same room Maxwell slept in when he got his arm treated.
"Sorry. It's just…"
"Is your wife strong?" Saga asked him suddenly.
"Huh?" Schneider looked at the swordsman.
"Is. Your. Wife. Strong?" Saga repeated his question.
"I—she…" Schneider thought back to when he first met his wife… They were kids at the time. His position as the chief's son had made him an arrogant little brat, and he and his friends were walking along the trail. Schneider then saw Roba, observing a flower on the edge of the road... It was a rather plain flower. He couldn't remember the details now, he was such a little shit back then.
All he remembered was making fun of her. Then, next thing he knew, he was thrown by the collar and sent tumbling down the mountain side! His friends were almost certain he was dead but Schneider landed in a bush, looking back up at the hill… And ironically, that was the moment he realized he wanted her as his wife.
Schneider had spent years trying to woo Roba, most often getting thrown around for his efforts. He was thrown into the water, thrown out the window, thrown out the door… But, amazingly, he wore her down, and Schneider became a better man for it.
His only regret was leaving her alone after all these years…
"…Yeah. She's strong," the corners of his mouth twitched. Roba survived being captive of a pirate crew, didn't she? She'll be fine with Maxwell, and Adelle, if she followed after them.
"Good," Saga nodded, "Between her, Maxwell, and Buzz I'm sure Adelle will be fine. …Sorry, I'm trying to think of what my friend would say if he were in this situation… I don't really have a leg to stand on when it comes to relationships..." His eyes briefly travelled to his sword, sheathed and held in his left hand.
Schneider remembered their conversation in Lytton's office, "…You know that wasn't your fault laddie."
Saga's fingers tightened over his bicep, "I should have been stronger…! When I first picked up this sword, I thought I could protect everyone, but there was no winning what happened there…"
The swordsman sighed, "Pirates had invaded our shores and I was desperate… My arm didn't works as it does now. The muscles in my shoulder were irreparably shorn after being trapped in a chain and gunpowder exploding near me. I woke up 3 days later in a hospital bed, and no longer able to use my sword-hand."
"The navy thought I could still be of some use as a sword instructor, so I was transferred to Asuka Island. I was in a bad way… but Maya had brought me out of that darkness. She was my shining light, illuminating the world around me. If found reasons to trust people again. And this sword…!" Saga threw Shichiseiken onto the bed in disgust, "—took it all away from me!"
Saga barely remembered what came next. One moment he was drawing the sword to defend his love. The next, Saga was standing over her body with a year gone by. He was disgusted with himself.
"Cherish your memories with them, Schneider," Saga told the old pirate. "You still have a chance to fix things…"
Schneider didn't respond. It was sad to see such a young man weigh down by pain. The guilt made Saga wiser beyond his years…
"Well, if ever you feel like settling down again, you could always come to Shimagame. I could use a good sword arm as we rebuild. And with Shimagame awake, we could probably throw that sword in the middle of the ocean. No one else could find it."
"Feh! If only…" Saga scoffed but he at least cracked a smile this time.
"Do you want to talk to him again?" Saga looked at the old man, asking about his son. "It's not like we are restricted to being here."
Schneider lowered his head, "Should I? I barely know my own son now… and I can't even trust anything he says until we finally get rid of this cult!" His knuckles popped, squeezing his hand so hard! It was like he barely knew him! One moment he was arrogantly proclaiming his victory. The next, Ratchet was struggling the understand the concept of family. His family! Schneider saw the look in his eye when Ratchet saw his mother! Maybe…?
"Then what about the gorilla? His bodyguard," Saga suggested.
"Honki?" Schneider looked at the swordsman. Then he thought about it… "I remember when the three of them were children, Honki, Maji, and Ratchet. Honki used to be such a skinny thing…" Honki and Maji were the sons of his own friends, Homer and Mitsuki. The two of them, with his son Ratchet, got along as thick as thieves. Just like their fathers had been.
He remembered Mitsuki always having his nose in the air as he laughed. How Homer couldn't keep his mouth shut, even when he wanted to…
Wait…
"You know what? That might be a good idea," Schneider walked out the door.
"Finally…" Saga followed him out. It was better than just standing around!
O O O
Adelle looked ahead at the sunset ocean, "Gah! What is that!?"
Maxwell could see it too. They had been flying for little over two hours now. What had been alight triangle on the horizon was finally large enough to describe.
A squat stark white mountain dressed in a skirt of green forest. And as they came closer, Maxwell could see the island turtle in it's entirety.
"…By the Maker!" Maxwell could barely believe his eyes. It really was an island on the back of a giant sea turtle! The sandy beaches that used to be the shoreline was now little more than a ring of sand on it's enormous shell. A scaly green and brown head floated halfway out of the water, revealing only its eyes and nostrils.
However, what should have been a magnificent beast was now a sight of horror! Black bar like tentacles hung in the air, arching all over the island. Mechanical hooked claws dug into the shell like a gangly mess of spider legs. It was like the island was infected with a parasite…
All of those cables made it seem like a cross between a cage and a harness. Maxwell could barely make out the shapes in the water. Those were the turtles flippers, bound like bands held to its sides. Maxwell could think of nothing worse to do to such a magnificent creature like this! Killing it would have been a mercy.
They stayed in the sky, circling around the mountain to where the cables were stemming from.
And it all came from the ugliest tower Maxwell had ever set his eyes upon, Karakuri Castle!
It was a rotund fortress, almost like a seashell, flowering in a fountain of those black arch-cables. The castle reminded Max of Thriller Bark's palace, with the giant chain and wheel. However this structure had many more protruding platforms, and was either dull grey or rusted brown. It reminded Maxwell of a the cone on a conch shell, but not nearly as graceful.
"My God, what has he done!" Roba covered her mouth as she looked upon her home. Her island! Roba knew her sun had slowly built infrastructure around the island, and it had helped their people, but this…! When had he built all of this!?
Ratchet had been smart to leave the island out beyond the horizon. Whether it was for controlling the turtle, or not causing a panic, Maxwell wasn't sure. It was far enough that row boats couldn't cross safely. Yet, close enough for cargo ships to plot a course.
And honestly, what could an army do against a living island?
"Roba!" Maxwell fly above Buzz and his passenger, "Where do you want us to land? Me and Adelle are going to have a hard time landing these on its back!"
Roba looked between them and the island turtle, "…Head for the west side! The village is on the right flank of our island turtle…" She was still coming to grips with what Schneider had told them about their island. "We'll have to use the rear flipper to climb up."
Maxwell nodded, agreeing with her. The flipper appeared closer to the shell around there. Like it was spreading out against the waves. It was still out of the water, but at least they could use the limb to climb onto the island!
Buzz then barked signalling them to fly in formation. They flew in a triangle like a flock of geese, circling the island. And they had no choice but to drink in that piteous sight. It was cruel and unusual.
Slowly, they began to descend, Buzz acting as their guide. When they passed by a formation, that looked like a serpent's head, above the tail, that was when Maxwell chose to it the accelerator. His pontoons slashed up the ocean, bouncing upon the water. He was heading towards a flatter portion of the reptilian fin.
Seeing what Maxwell was doing, Adelle also pulled the lever, letting her aircraft skip across the bay. Buzz then flew ahead, planning to meat them on the shore.
It was even more unbelievable up close. You wouldn't be able to tell that this island was a living breathing creature! The shell still looked like ocean cliffs from sea level. A dense thick jungle decorated the peaks, and the water sapphire blue…
Now if these tentacle things weren't all over the idea, it would have been a great island to explore!
Maxwell fully cut the engine, letting the glider float towards their landing sight. He waiting for it… and thunk! It gravely skidded onto the turtle's flipper. Maxwell looked over as he heard a second grinning sound. Adelle had landed safely, thank the Maker!
The mage undid the straps holding him in the aircraft, eager to get out of this thing. Great as it was, flying, Maxwell was very much excited to be on solid ground again!
"Adelle! Mr. Trevelyan!" They could see Buzz and Roba hurrying across the beach. Roba was still and old lady and therefore couldn't run like she used too. And Buzz was back in his wrinkly canine form, ears flopping on the craggy slope.
Roba went to Adelle first, watching her get out of the flying machine. Maxwell didn't mind. Neither of them had expected Adelle to follow them. "Adelle, now that I have you on the ground, what were you thinking!?"
The eleven year old looked down, pouting as she did. "…I didn't want to be left behind."
Roba's face melted, "Oh Adelle… We weren't going to be that long. You had that nice lady from the inn watching out for you. And Schneider and Mr. Saga were surely going to come back after—"
"They aren't you…!" Adelle crossed her arms, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "I already lost my Grandpa… I didn't want to lose a grandma either…!"
"Adelle…" Roba brought the child into a gentle hug, letting Adelle bury her head into Roba's shoulder. Maxwell couldn't hear it, but there was no mistaking Adelle was crying.
The mage dropped onto the shore, walking towards the three. Buzz came to meet him, still looking back at Roba and Adelle. However, as soon as Maxwell landed on the ground, he felt like he was was having a headache, "What the…?"
Then like a snap—! PAIN!
"ARGH!" Maxwell grabbed his head!
AGONY!
"Maxwell? Mr. Maxwell!" Roba saw the mage fall to his knees as he wriggled in agony!
"MAX! You have to resist!" He could hear Salem his head!
This misery… it wasn't his!
"Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhaaaa!" It was being projected onto him!
Mordred, Salem, and Mineive were trying their best to mitigate the influence but—!
INTRUDER!
A voice, a very unfamiliar voice, then rang in his head!
DREAMER!
IMPOSSIBLE—! AAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!
It was Shimagame, Maxwell was sure of it! And she was in very, very, VERY much in distress!
"Shimagame…" Maxwell tried to speak even as his head pounded. "We did not come to invade—!"
LIES!
AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!
YOU COME…
Even her voice was strangled by the pain she was enduring! But Maxwell couldn't help but wonder, what was causing all of this agony!? It couldn't have been because of the cage! Roba had only been gone a few months, at most!
"—To liberate!" Maxwell spat out. And somehow that word caused the pain to pause. He quickly assed on, "The one who imprisoned you, we're here to stop him! And his demon master!"
DEMON?
…YES… I SEE—Urgh…!
Maxwell breathed hard, now relieved of the island's forced projection. Even when faced with enslavement, the creature was still an island deity. And she was strong!
INFLUENCED…
THE BLOOD OF KARA…
Helpful… like hatchling.
The Islander's voice softened, though Maxwell didn't understand the context of hatchling. A lot of what she was saying was now disjointed. Was Shimagame referring to Adelle? Or…?
CLIMB.
Maxwell, Adelle, Roba, and Buzz all felt the beach move beneath their feet! It was tilting… and the slope above suddenly shifted closer to the cliff! The turtle was literally fleeing its flipper to let them climb above!
"T-Thank you…!" Maxwell nodded, slowly climbing to his feet.
"Mr. Maxwell what was that!?" Roba looked at him confused and a little scared.
"That… would have been Shimagame," Maxwell told the aged queen. "She knows we're here, and that… Well, we're currently not allies of Ratchet." Roba's face soured at the mention.
"Sorry," the mage apologized, "But we better head up now, while Shimagame has her strength. She is… not well." Maxwell stood up, turning towards the slope. Roba sighed but followed the pirate inland.
Adelle though, she looked to where Shimagame's head would have been, hiding beyond her shell. The turtle was in pain?
She then felt Buzz brush up against her, snapping Adelle out of her thoughts. The girl ran after Roba and the pirate.