There is a ship it's sailing the sea
It's loaded deep as deep can be
But not so deep as my love for him
I know not if I sink or swim
-Lyrics to 'The Water Is Wide' performed by Chloe Agnew
Elements of Great Design Part 35
Everything had happened so fast that the warriors of the Alliance had no full understanding of the damage to their boat until they were violently knocked from their feet and sliding down their splintered ship towards the cold water.
Their stunned cries and gasps filled the air as they struggled to cling onto something steady, using their weapons as anchors when their sharp ends pierced the deck that they managed to cut into.
His long fangs sinking into a flailing sail tie, Wufei managed to prop himself onto his four paws as the half of the ship that he, Anna and Duo were caught on began to level out from their weight for a moment. Heero, Quatre and Trowa had likewise forced their end of the vessel to turn upright for just a moment.
That constant, rough rocking back and forth wore on the weapons digging into the thick wooden planks.
On the next upswing, the curve of Maxwell's scythe slipped free, causing him to yell in panic as he plunged the rest of the way into the water. That scream was cut off when the back of his braided head collided with a fractured beam that came up like a plank. Instantly rendered unconscious, his lifeless body collapsed beneath the dark river.
Wide-eyed as she hung onto the dagger that secured her to the wood, Anna watched just as her brother disappeared. From his capsized section of the boat, Heero caught the same view of his lover being pulled under.
"Duo!" the Fighter and the thief shrieked as one. Lifting his head to meet the worried eye of the White Mage dangling just over him, Yuy ordered, "Get Wufei and yourselves to the island and clear a way for us!"
Using her balance and upper-body strength, Anna pulled herself to stand atop the hilt of her blade and met the horrified gazes across the way, hollering, "Trowa, make an air bubble for Duo before you take off!" That said, she drew a deep breath and dove off of her perch into the waves at the same time that the solider removed the blade of his long sword to fall feet-first into the chilled water right behind her.
Not needing to be told twice, the Dragoon realized the plan and freed a hand to point it at the ripping current. Just beneath the foamy surface, a rounded bulge of clear material created from the pocket that he had created sank after the three souls that had slipped beyond sight.
Knowing that they needed to make sure there was a place for the others to land, Barton shook his head at his partner, frowning, "That is the most we can do here. We need to get to the shore and get to that stone. Now."
Winner bit his lip and nodded. Closing his eyes, he brought the water specifically around their sinking half of the vessel to churn enough that they were level once again. Having the waves carry them just beneath the black wolf that was struggling to hang on, he covered the side of his mouth and yelled up, "Let go, Wufei! We have you!"
The massive animal opened his mouth with a grunt and spun himself around for a graceful landing onto the flat deck. Fur standing on end, he arched his back, gnashed his long teeth and growled deeply as he glared at the island covered by glowing red eyes.
"Yea," Trowa hissed under his breath, gripping his spear in one hand and patting his 'brother's head with the other as he also glowered at their awaiting enemies. "My sentiments exactly. Let's give the rest of our family a wide berth for their return."
Craving the same vengeance, Quatre's narrowed eyes peered back to the frayed end of their buoy where the river turned and pushed them swiftly across the remainder of the stretch while a great wave rose up to fall upon the first lines of monsters on the shore, dragging the screaming unfortunate below the tide.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The current was stronger than Heero had thought. Duo had been carried much further than he first feared... but then again, his braided lover could have been just in front of him and the soldier would never have known it thanks to how murky the water was.
His arms reaching all around him as much as he was trying to swim, his growing fear was threatening to consume him. Lungs beginning to burn, he silently wondered how far he was from the surface for when he would need to take a much needed breath.
Grunting in effort to flail his tiring arms, Yuy swayed and stretched out as far as he could to find something... anything that he could cling onto of Maxwell's. The edges of the already dark surroundings began to blacken completely out. If he did not get up for air soon, he was sure to drown. But the current only seemed to grow all the stronger and his body was weakened from his lack of oxygen.
In one last, desperate extension out, that was when the Fighter felt the end of a familiar rope of hair. Whimpering, he clung on and followed the braid until his arms were wrapped around the limp body of his partner.
Still unable to see, the dread had sunk into Heero that even at his top swim speed, he would not be able to save himself let alone Duo. Still, he freed an arm and prepared to give the climb every bit of himself that he had left.
All of a sudden, the water around Yuy completely vanished in a strange void that he had somehow passed into. Clinging to the still Black Mage in his care, he blinked in wide-eyed realization that they were safely within the confines of a giant bubble that had settled against the river's rocky bottom.
Completely melting to his knees, the soldier pulled his first, deep gasp of air and coughed violently. "Dear... Creator... that was... close," he heard Anna whisper between her panting breath as she swam into their round haven.
Still wheezing and filling his lungs with the air around them, Heero then remembered the thief's orders to Trowa before they went in after Maxwell. In that same flash of thought, his own silent musing over the son of Shinigami had him return to the present and his focus settled on the limp body that he was clinging to.
Chang was there, just as drenched and winded as she raised her own arms to assist cradling their charge. Calm as she could, she met the pained cobalt eyes on her and urged, "We need to set him down so that we can take care of him, brother."
Nodding shallowly, the soldier followed her lead and carefully lay Duo against the riverbed. His face pale, lips blue and his chest without the rise and fall of breath, the horrifying sight that the Black Mage made rocked Yuy to his core.
At the same time, his training included resuscitation techniques and instinct kicked in.
Loosening the tie of his lover's purple, hooded cape, he gently brought the cold face that he cupped to bend back just before he descended to press their lips together. Blowing a long puff of air into the other teenager, he pulled back for a moment before repeating the action.
Her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she fought off the whimper that nearly escaped her, Anna took Maxwell's hand to rub warmth into it it between her two. "Come on, Duo," she begged softly. "Breathe."
After three more forced reps of air, Heero was just on the verge of coming undone when he pulled back at the same time that the Black Mage sputtered and arched his back.
Falling back with a moan, the Fighter panted as Maxwell turned his head towards him to violently cough the water from his lungs. Anna gingerly assisted the Mage to sit up and patted his back to get the last drops out before he was able to breathe normally. Still unconscious, the braided youth turned his head back and forth as he groaned in a small and strangled voice, "N-no, Father... d-don't... please! No!"
Cobalt eyes growing with a sharp gasp, Yuy watched in horror as his partner took hold of the redhead's wrist in a fierce grip... just as he had when his father had attempted to drown him. This was not the Duo that he knew, but that terrified little boy who was only trying to survive... only he was about to use his gift on one of the last people that he would ever want to hurt and she was completely unawares.
Finding his voice, the soldier bellowed, "Anna! No!" In a flash, he sprang forward, shoving the startled archer back so roughly that her wrist was jarred free in the same instance that Heero's took her place in the grip of Death.
Stunned, the Fire Keeper fell onto her back as she blinked her enlarged eyes at the sight of Shinigami's son opening his eyes in a fierce glare directed at his soul mate as his violet irises glowed in the release of his power. Realizing just how close she had come to having her life taken away, she slapped her hand over her gaping mouth to muffle her startled cry.
There was not even so much as a tingle of the spell used as far as the soldier was concerned. Instead, he quickly contented himself in seeing that his sister was fine and wrapped his available arm around his lover's back, soothing, "Duo? It's me, love."
Slowly blinking as the glow in his eyes faded, the Black Mage stared in uncertainty through his dripping bangs. "H-'ro?" he slurred with a deep frown. "W-wha happened?"
No sooner had the question left him than his vision completely focused, taking in the dark water that ran past the bubble that wrapped tall and wide around them. "O-oh," he breathed in horror, his skin paling at recalling the use of his power during his return to the living.
Peering over to where a certain thief was pushing herself onto her knees just beside him, he wailed, "Oh, Creator. Anna... Are you..." Unable to finish his question when the world before him shifted with unshed tears, he whimpered and shivered.
Automatically tightening his arms around Death, Heero sighed in the relief that his beloved was alright and kissed the top of his damp hair.
Chang rushed to Maxwell's side and cupped his cheek, smiling as she reassured, "I'm fine. And not another thought about what just happened. It was my fault for being so daft as to cling to you when you were just coming alert after what happened in your past." She smiled, "All that matters is that you're alright." Hitting Yuy on the arm, she smirked, "You had Life breathed back into you."
Quickly realizing what that comment both literally and figuratively meant, Duo looked onto his lover and gave him a brilliant, loving smile.
Frowning as she peered up to the top of their dome, the redhead frowned, "I hate to break up the moment, but we need to get to that island and help the others that we have left to fend for themselves." Her hands glowing brilliantly as she rose to her feet, she growled, "I do hope that there are still enough demons to go around so that I can have my shot at repaying them."
Heero steadied his swaying counterpart when they stood up together. Only needing a moment to gather his bearings, Duo let out a deep breath and found his firm balance again. Staring out to the river, the Black Mage followed the turbulent current with his violet eyes and raised a hand to his side.
A plume of black smoke shot from his fingers, wrapping and curling like a thick rope as it stretched out to lengths beyond sight.
Smirking when the tie jolted in its latching onto his target, Maxwell gave a flick of his wrist that called the black magic back until its end was clearly seen holding onto his scythe. Without so much as nicking the bubble that Trowa had created, the gleaming weapon settled back into its rightful owner's possession much to the wonder of the gifted's onlookers.
"Nice," Anna smirked. Rubbing her burning hands together, she warned, "I suggest that you both hang on as best you can."
At that, she turned away from the pair and rested her palms flat against the cool skin of their haven. Sending an intense shock of heat through, the running water bubbled and steamed over. That focused line of energy acted like a cannon that sent the orb screaming through the remainder of the waterway until it shot upward at the shoreline of the isle.
The moment they broke into the open air, the three warriors felt the air bubble pop around them to give one last push that had them flying through the air to land safely on dry land. Already, there was a good clearing from the edge of the bank to where Quatre, Trowa and Wufei were battling the beasts that had been waiting for them.
Working together as much as they were individually, the Keepers were in definite need of more assistance. Quickly nooking an arrow, Anna narrowed an eye to focus on her first line of interest just beyond the black wolf who was in danger of being overcome.
Pulling back on the bowstring and setting the shaft of her arrow ablaze, she fired upon the distracted stretch of monsters that soon found themselves engulfed in flames. A couple dozen wailed in agony as they fell in that single blow.
Just as shocked by the unexpected blow, Wufei spun around along with his equally wide-eyed brothers. "Well it's about time you got here!" Barton laughed over the nearly deafening sounds of snarls and jaws snapping. "We were afraid that there wouldn't be anything left for you to take on at the rate we were going!"
Snorting, Duo charged in to slice through the bellies of three ogres in one swift blow from his blade as he smirked, "We wanted to make a big enough entrance first." Only a few feet away from him, Heero was giving their opponents just as much a time with his long sword. And so the battle resumed as if it had never been interrupted.
At Quatre's command, the darkened skies overhead opened up to a heavy downpour that made visibility difficult on the monsters, most of their few glimpses only coming on through the occasional flash of lightning. Thunder shook the ground at the feet of the challengers.
Soaring and flipping on the powerful winds ripping through, Trowa spun and cut every inch of the way through the thick hides of the gruesome beasts in his way. If his spear was out of reach of his targets, he forged daggers out of the air to slice through neck and limb to triple his own personal efforts.
Drenched to the bone, Anna lowered her bow at the rare break in immediate threats that she had been keeping at bay. Wiping a hand over her face as she took in the reinforcements that continued to descend the rock formations, she frowned, "I am not going to be of much help at this rate."
When she found the son of Shinigami only a few feet away, he was in the process removing his scythe from the back of the last ogre that he claimed with his Death ability.
"Duo!" the archer called, reaching into her pocket to reveal the vile she had carried over with her. "We're going to need Wufei!" His bloodied jaws being cleaned beneath the relentless rain, the black wolf hurried over by his lover's side as she pulled his Monk robe from her quiver and draped it over his back.
Nodding firmly to her, Maxwell called back, "Got it!"
Without wanting to give their foes another moment to come in any closer, Anna tossed aside the cork that sealed the potion and threw the drink down in a single gulp. In that next second, she was falling and Wufei was rising into his human form just in time to catch her limp body in his arms.
Draped in his clothes, the Earth Keeper gingerly lowered the redhead that he cradled to the ground. Taking the last moment he had to press their lips together, he whispered, ""You did beautifully, love. I'll take it from here."
Pulling his robe firmly around himself and tying the fabric closed, the Monk fixed a fierce glare up to the ridges and the hoards of monsters scaling down their sides.
Slowly opening his right hand and shooting it out before himself, the Earth Keeper's magic flowed through the very fibers of the ground at his feet and coursed through the ridges until a giant, opened hand of rock like his own jetted out to the eruption of cracks and moans from the of the warped sides of the cliffs.
Scores of monsters collapsed hundreds of feet to their demises, their screams and flailing cut off as soon as they smashed against the hard floor that greeted them. Those still clinging onto the stone fingers soon followed when Chang turned his palm around and clenched a fist so tight that it trembled.
Mimicking his movements perfectly, the massive hand from the ridge spun and crushed those beasts that could not escape its grip before they were crushed to all but dust.
To the wonder of his friends, Wufei raised his fist and brought it down in a hard blow against the palm of his other hand. From there, the rock fist rose and fell to the ground like a mallet that annihilated anything in its path. When it came back up, it stretched out to continue its destruction along with its wielder until nearly all of the dangers in sight were removed.
Pleased with his efforts, a small smirk curled the corner of Wufei's lips as he relaxed his arms to his sides. Once again following suit, the great hand of rock retracted until the ridge was standing as it had been before. Stunned silent, Quatre raised his hand to call off the heavy rain. And for the first time since the Alliance's arrival, the island had fallen silent.
"Holy..." was all Duo could breathe, scythe nearly falling from his limp hand as he and the rest of his team stared in wide-eyed shock at the bodies strewn about. Gazing over at his Eblan friend, he grinned, "Remind me to never piss you off."
Laughing, Wufei nodded, "Just be sure not to forget that." His onyx eyes grew as a familiar, humming spark appeared in the Black Mage's opening hand. Hovering straight for her soul mate, Anna's soul pressed itself against his cheek as though in a soft kiss that tingled where it touched.
With a loving smile, the Monk turned his head while the bright light settled on his shoulder as he breathed, "Hello, Firefly." A deep frown of worry spreading across his face, he looked to his other side where his beloved's body lay at his feet. "Are we going into this with this five?" he asked, peering over to his brothers.
He gestured to the glowing symbol over the cave entrance that loomed miles over them. That brilliant streak of a soul against the rocks that shaped the Elder who had sacrificed themselves served as a glaring reminder of the grim importance behind capturing the Elemental Stone inside. staring up at the remains, the warriors fell silent in respect for the life lost as well as the frightening reality of what was awaiting them.
Shaking his head, Chang stated, "There is no way the stone will be left unguarded for us to just take without a fight." As he reached up to run a hand through his loose, wet hair, he focused on Maxwell, asking, "If we need Anna up there at any point, will you be able to return her soul without endangering her in the middle of a struggle?"
Duo raised a hand, reassuring with a grin, "I swear that I would never risk her if I was not certain that she will return safely where she belongs." A deep sigh of relief escaping him at that, Wufei gave him a firm nod and rolled his shoulders back that he was ready.
"Let's go get your stone," Trowa smiled to his lover as he wrapped an arm around Winner's shoulders to give him a firm squeeze.
Quatre drew a deep breath that he released slowly in anticipation. Closing his eyes, he called upon the running river, bringing forth in long streams that snaked over the isle. When they gathered near the base of the ridge, they took on the form of steps that rose and led up all the way to the mouth of the cave.
Jaw falling open, Heero blinked his growing eyes at the incredible sight. Facing the Water Keeper, he smirked, "You really have grown into your powers."
Nervous as he was over what might lay ahead for them, the White Mage smiled warmly at the praise all the same. Clearing his throat, he focused onto his handwork and announced, "Right. Let's do this." At his lead, the others followed close behind with Wufei cradling Anna's body in his arms.
When their feet touched the surface of the first step, the members of the Alliance were carried up the rest of the way up by the stairs that were constantly moving water beneath them. Slipping into the entrance of the cave, there were several sights that brought the brave travelers to a dead halt of frozen fear.
Deep in the recesses of the long tunnel, the large and blackened Water Stone sat atop a pillar of light blue opal. Around the weapon, a half-dozen monsters of every kind were encased in a thick layer of ice with their limbs extended towards the rock as they were last positioned before wrongfully touching what was not theirs.
But what truly had the team just as still was the massive ball of blue scales that slinked and uncoiled between them and the stone. Great claws with long, curved talons appeared to dig into the ground. From the center of the tangle, three dragon-like heads as large as any one of the warriors appeared, snapping and hissing at the intruders.
Finally finding his voice, Duo muttered sarcastically, "Oh, yea. This is going to be fun."
TBC...
[1] http://ffe.hendersongdi.com/k/kraken.html
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