Chapter Twenty Two - The Storm
—
Crackoom!
White hot "lightning" crashes down from the blazing red clouds above and into the ocean, instantly disintegrating the liquid into smoke on contact.
But this "lightning" isn't the electrical discharge you would expect from an average storm. It's a stream of fire made of the immortal Phoenix's eternal flames.
Descending onto the ocean along with the flames is a burning hail, which resembles small asteroids more than falling pieces of ice.
Boom!
These mini fireballs shake and dent the S.S. Kaela 67 with each collision, causing significant damage to the vessel.
Bam!
The door of the ship's main cabin bursts open, and Mumei, Ina, and Gura rush out.
"What the.!?" Gura exclaims in shock upon seeing the disastrous scene unfolding in front of her.
"..! This is Kobo Kanaeru's power." Mumei says, looking at rain of fire. Oh, and the phoenix herself floating a hundred feet in the air.
"Kobo? That cute little girl is doing all of this?" Ina asks Amelia as she looks around at the havoc taking place.
"She is Cali and Kiara's kid, so she probably has some crazy hidden power." Amelia responds.
"You did this didn't you, Kaela!" Mumei shouts, grabbing the blacksmith by her coat's collar.
"Guilty as charged." She says jokingly, raising both of her hands in a show of docility.
"Damn you! You can't just surrender peacefully, can you?" The god of civilisation says frustratedly, letting go off Kaela's collar with her left hand and forming it into a fist.
Mumei winds up her punch, getting ready to hit Kaela when Gura randomly shouts. "Ah! There's a skeleton on the ship!"
"What!?" Mumei exclaims as she and everyone else looks in the direction Gura's pointing towards.
True enough, a living skeleton lies on the ship's rails, with half of it's body being inside the deck and the other half hanging on the outside of the ship.
Amelia immediately runs to the undead and kicks it's head, launching into the ocean below.
Plop
The detective then looks down into the ocean to verify the skeleton's state, only to stumble back in shock after seeing what lies beneath the S.S. Kaela 67.
The ocean has turned a dark and cloudy gray, and a swarm of bony undead now swim in its waters like schools of fish.
"The ocean..." Amelia says wearily, trying to process what she just saw. "The ocean is filled with undead!"
The other girls run to the edge of the deck, looking down at the dark gray ocean below.
"This is insane..." Ina exclaims in disbelief.
"Get away from the water! If you make contact with the water of the river Styx for too long, you'll be taken into the underworld!" Mumei warns everyone before quickly running back to the inner part of the deck.
Everyone else soon follows, running away form the deadly water.
Kaela however, remains standing next to edge of the deck and continues watching the storm closely.
"It's been a year since I last saw the Parade of Fire." Kaela remarks as she intently watches the storm wreaking havoc on the Pacific Ocean. "Nobody wanted to play with her, so Kobo threw a massive tantrum that almost destroyed Hololive Indonesia's headquarters."
"Now's not the time to reminisce on old memories, Kaela!" Mumei shouts frustratedly at the distracted blacksmith.
"Yeah, but-"
BOOOOMMM!
A fireball slams into the left side of the S.S. Kaela 67, rocking the ship violently and dealing critical damage to its structure.
"That sounded bad!" Ina shouts in concern, looking towards the sound's point of origin.
"That is bad." Kaela says. "It sounds like the fireball punctured a hole in the ship. And it sounds like a big one too." The smith explains with absolutely no sense of urgency.
"If the ship floods we'll be dragged into the river Styx!" Amelia shouts in a panic.
"What can we do!? Can we fix the ship from here!?" Gura asks, causing everyone to turn towards Kaela.
"Hey, don't look at me. Even I can't repair a moving ship, especially when the water literally kills you when you touch it." Kaela says, raising her arms up.
"We need to find a way to save this ship before we go under!" Amelia says urgently as she frantically searches the area for anything that could save the situation.
Amelia tries to create a vine under the ship to push it up, but the plant quickly withers inside the deathly water.
"Tch!" The Kirin scoffs. 'I can't use my powers, and we can't fix the ship. I might have to find a way to get help from Hololive Indonesia.' She thinks to herself.
Bam!
Suddenly, something slams into the wall of the S.S. Kaela 67. The object sounding more like a bowling bowl than a fireball.
"HEEEEYYY GUUUYYYSSS!"
[ Kureiji Ollie - The Undying Girl ]
"Ollie!" Gura shouts in shock upon seeing the zombie.
Ollie's head, detached from the rest of her body, lies on the floor of the deck
"What's going on here guys!? At first we thought that you kidnapped Kaela or something, but we noticed that Mumei was with you guys, so you probably aren't doing anything bad, right!?" Ollie questions with suspicion.
"No, we aren't. We never hurt Kaela or forced her to do anything against her will." Amelia explains. "Well, I guess I did hurt her, but she was asking for it!"
"Kaela was asking you to hurt her..? Uh- never mind. I was gonna ask you about it, but that sounds private." Ollie says, refraining from asking any embarrassing questions.
"It's not like that! We just fought each other like normal, so can you tell us what you're here for now!" Amelia shouts frustratedly at the respectful zombie.
"Right! Well, now that you told me about the situation, I've done what I need to do." Ollie responds. "So if you could just throw my head back onto the S.S. Kaela 69, that would be a big help." She asks, rolling herself towards Amelia's feet.
"Uh... sure." Amelia obliges, picking up Ollie's head and aiming towards the other ship.
"Oh, and when you get to the other side, ask the rest of Hololive Indonesia to come help us out." The detective requests.
"Sure!" And the zombie readily accepts.
So, with one big swing, Amelia launches Ollie's head at the S.S. Kaela 69.
"WWOOOOHhoooooo..."
The zombie's cranium flies swiftly through the air, eventually landing "safely" onto Hololive Indonesia's vessel.
"Great. Now that Ollie's asking for help, all we have to do is hold out until Hololive Indonesia comes to get us." Amelia says, looking hopeful.
"But how do much longer do we have left? The ship is almost halfway submerged into the ocean." Ina asks anxiously as she looks at the gray water, which is much closer to them than it was a few minutes ago.
"The S.S. Kaela 69 is the fastest aquatic vehicle in the world, so have a little faith." Kaela says confidently, trying to assure Ina.
"I know that, but I'm still worried." Ina replies, her anxiety having not been lifted.
"Can't you do anything Mumei, you're a literal god, right?" Gura asks the council member expectantly.
"Look at this Gura." Mumei says, lifting her right "arm". "This is my ability, Gura. I have guns, bombs, and that's it."
"But weren't you flying on a massive gun island in Indonesia? Can't you just make our ship fly just like that?" Gura asks, not getting what the civilisation god is trying to say.
"Does this look like a gun to you?" Mumei asks rhetorically, pointing down at the ship deck's floor.
"No, but-"
"Guys, stop fighting! We have bigger things to worry about!" Gura tries to retort but Amelia interrupts her.
A massive wave swims in front of the detective, the thirty foot wall of water and skeletons quickly barrelling towards the side of the ship.
Seeing the ginormous wave approaching, Mumei casually raises her left hand and points her pointer finger at it. The appendage then quickly morphing into the shape of a pistol's barrel.
Boom!
Mumei launches a powerful blast from her fingertips, completely disintegrating the enormous wave.
Mumei blows away the smoke rising from her finger and turns to Gura. "You see this Gura, this is what I'm good for."
"Wow, real cool stuff man." The Atlantean says with a sarcastic, deadpan expression.
"Watch your sass, Atlantean. Remember that you're talking to a god here." Mumei warns Gura, frustratedly pointing her right "arm" At her.
"Will do Ma'am! Hehe... I'm really sorry. (Please don't kill me)." The Atlantean anxiously apologises, raising her hands in the air.
Satisfied enough with Gura's apology, Mumei turns to the front of the boat and looks for the S.S. Kaela 69.
Hololive Indonesia's vessel sails just a few feet in front of theirs, and it quickly draws closer.
"Bring all of the unconscious out onto the deck, Hololive Indonesia is coming close." Mumei orders, and everyone else quickly obliges, running inside of the ship's cabin and taking Kiara, FuwaMoco, Shiori, and Bijou outside.
"Its good that they're so close, we're almost about to go under." Kaela casually comments on the ship's concerning condition. The ship is now on the verge of sinking, with a little over half of the vessel being submerged under the Styx infused ocean.
"How can you be so relaxed at a time like this!" Ina shouts at the chill smith, who just shrugs in response.
"Hey! Amelia!"
[ Vestia Zeta - Not a Cat ]
"Zeta!" The detective exclaims in excitement upon seeing Zeta and the S.S. Kaela 69 floating just a few feet behind them.
"We can't come any closer to you because of the waves, so you'll need to come aboard yourselves alright!?" The agent explains, shouting from the deck of her own ship.
Hearing Zeta's orders, Amelia turns around to face her team and shouts, "You heard her! We've got to jump aboard Hololive Indonesia's ship!"
"How are we gonna get over there while we're carrying these guys?" Gura asks as she picks up the twins and carries them under her arms.
"I'll make a bridge to their ship with my Kirin abilities, so you'll just have to cross it." Amelia answers. "Though, you'll have to be careful or the waves will throw you off."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get to bridging, Amelia!" Kaela heckles as she casually leans against the deck's railings.
"Yeah, I'm on it." The detective replies before quickly heading to the edge of the deck.
She then places five seeds on top of the railings, spacing them about ten inches apart from each other.
The seeds begin to glow a bright green as the plant sprouts large roots that firmly latch onto the ship's rails.
The seeds then sprout thick green stocks that rapidly grow upwards in the direction of Hololive Indonesia's ship.
Upon reaching the rails of the S.S. Kaela 69's deck, the plants wrap themselves around the metal frame, securing them in place.
"Alright, the bridge is in place." Amelia says, tugging on one of the plants to make sure that they're secure. "But make sure you're extra careful, the plants are sloping upwards, so you'll slip if you're not careful."
"That looks really scary, Ame." Gura remarks as she looks at the green bridge rocking vigorously along with both boats.
"I know, but it's the only way." Amelia regretfully responds. "And I'll help you, so you don't have to be afraid." She adds, trying to assure her friend.
"Well, I'll be going first." Kaela says as she walks to the ship's rails. She then climbs on top of said rails and stands up.
"Kaela? What the hell are you doing!?" Amelia asks upon seeing the smith's antics.
"I appreciate you making the bridge for us Amelia, but I don't need it." Kaela says before jumping off the rails, launching her onto Hololive Indonesia's ship where she lands perfectly.
"Sigh... don't worry Amelia, I'll use your bridge." Mumei says, patting the detective on the back before grabbing Shiori and Bijou and jumping along the giant plants.
"Uhm, ok?" Amelia exclaims in confusion before turning to Gura and Ina. "Who's next?"
"Looks like I'm up!" Gura confidently says before jumping onto the big green bridge, Fuwawa and Mococo placed firmly under her arms.
Upon landing, she wraps her tail around the plant stocks, keeping her balanced on the slippery slope.
"I thought you said this was really scary, Gura." Amelia says teasingly at the Atlantean.
"Well, you said you would help me, so I guess I should be okay." Gura replies, too embarrassed to admit the trust she has in her friend.
"Of course you will!" The detective says cheerily, giving her shark friend an encouraging vine slap on the back.
Smack
"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoah!" Gura shouts as she's pushed off balance, flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to keep her from falling.
"Oops! Sorry about that!" Amelia apologises, using the same vine she used to slap Gura to put her back in a secure position.
"Some help you are!" The angry Atlantean shouts before storming off towards the S.S. Kaela 69.
"Well, there goes Gura." Amelia remarks as she watches the shark trot across the green bridge. She then turns towards Ina. "It's your turn now, Ina."
"Eeh!" The priestess exclaims in fear, "You think there's some other way?" She desperately asks.
"C'mon Ina, you don't have to worry. I'll protect you, I promise." Amelia says, flashing an assuring smile.
"Here, I'll hold Kiara for you." The Kirin adds, reaching her arms out to receive her phoenix friend.
"Alright, I trust you." Ina says as she hands Kiara over to Amelia, who wraps the Phoenix's arms around her neck while holding her waist.
The priestess then climbs the ship's railings and mantles the natural bridge, latching onto the plants with her arms and legs.
Without a word, Amelia creates a vine that wraps around Ina's waist and connects to the bridge, acting as a sort of harness.
Slowly but surely, Ina crawls along the bridge, eventually reaching the S.S. Kaela 69 where Amelia then disengages the harness.
"Great, now it's just you and me, Wawa." Amelia says, looking at the Phoenix on her side.
She then jumps up onto the plant bridge, stumbling slightly as she lands on the slippery sticks.
"Woah! Sorry about that, Kiara!" The detective apologises to the unconscious woman. (I don't know why she did that.)
To a avoid another slip-up, Amelia steadily walks along the path to the S.S. Kaela 69, securing her feet to the sticks with small barbs attached to her shoes.
Eventually, the Kirin makes it to the other side, and safely steps onto Hololive Indonesia's ship.
Upon arriving, Amelia immediately kills the plant bridge, disconnecting the S.S. Kaela 69 from the sinking ship.
"Amelia! Glad you got here safely." Zeta says with relief as she reaches her arms out, offering to carry Kiara.
"Yeah, I thought were goners." The detective replies as she hands Kiara over to Zeta.
"Now that you're all here safely, we need to find a way to snap Kobo out of her trance."
[ Moona Hoshinova - Lunar god's Vessel ]
"You're right, but what can we possibly do?" Amelia says, placing her finger on her temple as she tries to think.
"Why don't we wake up Kiara and have her talk to Kobo? She's bound to listen to her mother, right?" Ina suggests, and Amelia lights up.
"That's a good idea!" She says as she runs to the unconscious Phoenix, who's now leaning on the side of a wall.
Amelia kneels down until she reaches Kiara's level and sticks her hands out towards her, activating her healing ability.
A glowing green light envelopes Kiara as she's filled with the Kirin's healing, and she soon opens her eyes as she regains consciousness.
"Ah... Ame?" Kiara mutters as the blonde girl enters her vision.
"Yeah, it's me. I was hoping you could talk to your child for me, she's really scary." Amelia says as she slowly lifts up Kiara's head.
"What..?" Kiara mutters in confusion as she looks up at the sky. "Is that... Kobo!?" She asks, her eyes widening in overwhelming shock upon seeing her child floating a hundred feet in the air.
"Yeah, we need you to snap her out of this state she's in or-
Boom!
Things could end badly." Amelia explains as Kiara looks around, taking in the chaos going on around her.
Kiara slowly stands up, keeping her eyes on the blazing rain falling upon the gray, undead infested, muddy water that used to be the Pacific Ocean. "I didn't know that she could do this."
"Well, you know how strong Cali is. And how strong interspecies babies are, so this shouldn't be too much of a surprise." Amelia responds.
"So, you think you could talk her out of this." The detective asks, placing her hand on Kiara's back.
"Yeah! I'll give that brat a good scolding!" The Phoenix says determinedly before transforming into her [true] form and taking to the skies.
Kiara flies up with blazing speed until she reaches Kobo, where she circles around the young reaper as she talks to her.
"You think this is gonna work?" Gura asks as she looks up at the two Phoenixes.
"You better hope it does, because I don't have any other ideas." Amelia replies as she watches along with bated breaths.
While it's passengers anxiously watch Kiara try to calm down Kobo, the S.S. Kaela 69 is rocked by the violent waves and bombarded by molten rock and white hot "lightning".
But the stalwart ship continues sailing on, staying on a somewhat steady path despite the heavy damage being inflicted upon it.
"Oh, you really are my magnum opus, my dear S.S. Kaela 69~" Kaela says as she proudly pats the side of her beloved ship.
"What!? I thought I was your magnum opus!"
[ Anya Melfissa - Kaela Kovalskia's Magnum Opus ]
"Hey, who said that you weren't? I can have two magnum opus's you know." Kaela assures her other most important creation as she pats her on the back.
"That's good, cause you're like a mother to me." Anya says with relief, hugging her creator.
"Yeah, probably 'cause I literally created you." The smith says matter-of-factly, continuing to give the Kaeris little back pats.
Suddenly, Kiara descends from the sky, flying until she ends up just a few feet above the S.S. Kaela 69.
"Kobo's in some sort of trance, she isn't listening to anything I say!" The Phoenix reports in a panic.
"Hmmm... if she won't even listen to her own mother, then there's only one person who might be able to snap her out of this state." Amelia thinks to herself before quickly turning to the back of the deck.
"Kaela! You need to get Kobo to stop the storm!" The detective shouts, causing Kaela to let go of her magnum opus.
"Yeah, it's getting kinda old now." The smith says casually as she walks to the front of the ship.
"Hey Kobo! I was just joking! There aren't actually kidnapping me, so you can end this storm now!" Kaela shouts at max volume, only for the young reaper to ignore her.
"Did you hear me!? I said there's no problem, so you can call off your attack!" The smith shouts once more, only for nothing to happen.
"You think she didn't hear me?" Kaela turns and asks the other girls, only for them to shake their heads violently.
"No, she definitely heard you... Agh!" Moona replies snarkily, wincing in pain as her ears are filled with a loud ringing.
Amelia looks up at Kobo, deep in thought. She taps her chin as she focuses on finding a solution, and after a few seconds she turns to face the rest of the group. "Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop Kobo?"
"I don't have any." Gura replies. And Zeta adds, "Me neither."
"Then I'm gonna do the only option left." Amelia says as she walks to the front of the ship.
"Get ready, Kiara." Urges the detective as she raises her arms up towards Kobo.
"Why?" The Phoenix asks, giving her friend a confused look.
In an instant, Amelia quickly contacts her right hand, conjuring the Kirin's Arrow. She then releases her hands, sending the attack flying towards Kobo.
"Ame, what are you doing!?" The perplexed Kiara shouts in anger.
"I'm sorry Kiara, but if Kobo doesn't call off that storm soon, then even the S.S. Kaela 69 won't survive." The detective explains, feeling remorseful despite thinking that this is the only way to stop Kobo.
"We'll talk about this!" Kiara shouts frustratedly before quickly flying to catch her daughter, who's now falling from the sky after being hit by the Kirin's Arrow.
"Ame! Did you really have to do that!?" Ina shouts in confusion as she runs towards her friend.
"I'm sorry, but that was the only way I could see Kobo ending the storm." The detective apologises once more, trying to justify her action.
"But still, don't you think that attacking her is a little cruel!? Especially since she's six!" Ina asks frustratedly, causing Amelia to be taken aback. She's never seen Ina this angry before, and it's not something she's ready for.
"Look Ina, I really didn't want to hurt Kobo but-"
"She did the right thing, Ina. We would be in real danger if Kobo didn't call off the storm soon, and this is the only way we could get her to do it without wasting time looking for other solutions." Amelia desperately tries to explain, when she's cut off by Zeta, who comes to her defence.
"I guess... sorry, Ame." Ina begrudgingly backs off and apologises.
Amelia opens her mouth, but before she can say anything, Kiara descends onto the ship, cradling a sleeping Kobo. She sets the young Phoenix on the floor gently before transforming back into her human form.
"Looks like she regenerated from her injury, so that's good." Kiara says with relief as she watches her child sleeping peacefully.
"And the storm's already subsiding." Amelia adds, looking up at the now clear sky.
"Great! Now it's just smooth sailing until we reach the island Paradise!" Gura shouts cheerfully in celebration.
Thump
Suddenly, a hand grabs onto the rails of the S.S. Kaela 69, causing the entire ship to lean downwards at the point where the hand is.
"What the- who is that!?" Amelia shouts fearfully as she looks at the mysterious hand.
The hand then twists, pulling the rest of the arm upwards and allowing the other hand to be placed on the railings. Using the support of both hands, the hidden person climbs onto the ship, striking fear into all that see her.
"No..." Amelia utters, completely horrified.
"You hurt my Kobo, Ame. I'll make sure you pay."
[ Mori Calliope - Death, the Reaper ]