The salt air of the dock carried the mingled scents of brine, rotting wood, and the sharp tang of fear. Children huddled together on the wooden planks, their small bodies trembling, their faces streaked with tears and grime. Some clutched each other; others stared blankly ahead, still processing the horror of having been used as bargaining chips by the Navy.
Galit Varuna moved among them with, his long neck held in that loose, observant S-curve that allowed him to survey the entire dock without moving his body. His sharp emerald eyes darted from child to child, counting, assessing, cataloging.
"Easy now," he said, with that sharp, intelligent edge that somehow softened when addressing the frightened. "You're safe. No one's going to hurt you."
A little girl with braids and a tear-streaked face looked up at him, her voice barely a whisper. "Is it true? The council... they're really free?"
Galit's expression softened. "They're free. And they're going to make sure the Navy never does this again."
Eliane Anđel moved among the children with gentle comfort. Her long silver hair was tied back in a practical braid, and her small chef's jacket was smudged with something that might have been flour or might have been dirt. Her blue eyes sparkled with determination as she guided a cluster of children toward the submarine's gangplank.
"Come on," she called out, with warm, encouragement. "I've got some snacks inside. Really good ones. My grandmother's recipe for cloud-berry tarts."
A boy's head snapped up. "Cloud-berry tarts?"
Eliane grinned. "The best you'll ever have. I promise."
Vesta Lavana's rainbow hair flared as she danced among the children, her eclectic K-pop star outfit a splash of color against the grey dock. Her platform boots clacked against the wood, and her violet eyes sparkled with manic energy. Mikasi, her custom guitar, was slung across her back, and she struck a dramatic pose.
"Okay, okay, listen up!" she called out, her with a performer's cadence. "We're going to play a game. It's called 'Get on the Big Submarine Before Something Scary Happens.' I think you're all going to love it!"
A girl with pigtails looked up at her, her voice skeptical. "That doesn't sound like a game."
"It's the BEST game!" Vesta insisted, her rainbow hair shifting through a spectrum of colors. "Trust me. I'm an expert on games. I've been playing games my whole life."
Jelly "Giggles" Squish bounced among the children like a blue, wobbly balloon, his translucent form rippling with each bounce. His massive starry eyes were wide with delight, and his permanent toothy grin stretched across his face. His tiny red bandana fluttered in the breeze, and his makeshift seaweed belt bounced with each movement.
"Bloop!" Jelly giggled, with a bubbling, effervescent quality. "I'll protect everyone! Probably! I'm very good at protecting! Ask anyone! Well, don't ask anyone, because I haven't protected anyone yet, but I'm sure I'm good at it!"
A boy with a missing tooth stared at him. "What are you?"
Jelly's grin widened. "I'm a friend! A squishy, bouncy, VERY helpful friend! Bloop!"
Galit shook his head, a smirk tugging at his lips despite the tension. "Jelly, stop distracting the children."
"Distracting? I'm ENCOURAGING! There's a difference! Bloop!"
Eliane's laugh cut through the chaos. "Jelly, you're not helping."
"I AM HELPING! I'M HELPING SO MUCH!"
Galit was about to respond when the world went white.
The flash of light came from nowhere and everywhere—a blinding, searing brilliance that washed over the dock like a wave. Galit threw his arm over his face, his eyes squeezed shut, his teeth grinding against the intensity. The children screamed, their voices rising in a chorus of fear. Eliane stumbled, catching herself on the gangplank. Vesta's rainbow hair flickered with distress. Jelly's body rippled with the force of the flash, his gelatinous form shuddering.
The light faded, leaving spots dancing in Galit's vision. He blinked, forcing his eyes to focus, and reached for the transponder snail at his belt. His fingers found the familiar shell, and he pressed the receiver button.
"Bianca," he said, his voice flat and urgent. "That flash of light—was that you?"
The snail's eyestalks swiveled, and Bianca's voice emerged. "Like, yeah. But like, I don't know if it, like, worked or whatever."
Galit's jaw tightened. "Define 'worked.'"
"Like, I don't know! The Engine, like, surged, and there was, like, a big flash, and—"
A deafening roar ripped through the air.
The sound was ancient and terrible, a sound that belonged to a world before memory, before time. It carried the weight of eight hundred years of imprisonment, and it shook the very foundations of the dock. A gust of wind followed, powerful enough to force Galit to brace himself against the gangplank.
His head snapped toward the horizon.
The Red Rampart rose against the sky like a wall of rusted iron, its weathered cliffs a streak on the horizon. But above it—above everything—a massive form filled the skyline. It was serpentine and terrible, its crystalline scales splitting the light in prismatic flashes. Its golden eyes burned with ancient fury, and its horns—one severed, one intact—gleamed like weapons forged in the heart of a dying star.
Galit's jaw dropped.
Eliane's hands flew to her mouth. Her white Lunarian wings flickered involuntarily behind her, a brief flash of light that she quickly suppressed. "What... what IS that?"
Vesta's rainbow hair had gone pale, her violet eyes wide with shock. "That's... that's not a sea king. That's not ANYTHING I've ever seen."
Jelly's body rippled with something that might have been fear. "Bloop... that's a very big snake. Very big. The biggest snake I've ever seen. And I've seen some pretty big snakes."
The children screamed.
The sound was a chorus of terror, high-pitched and desperate. They scrambled backward, away from the massive form on the horizon, their small bodies pressing against each other in a desperate search for safety.
Galit's eyes flicked from the serpent to the children, his mind racing. The transponder snail in his hand crackled with Bianca's voice.
"Like, what is, like, going on? I can hear screaming. Is that screaming? Why is there screaming?"
Galit snapped out of his awestruck state, with the sharp edge of command. "I think it worked. Whatever you did—I think it worked."
Bianca's voice carried a note of cautious optimism. "Like, cool."
An arc of familiar Haki lit up the sky—a wave of spiritual force that Galit recognized immediately. It was Marya's signature, unmistakable and fierce, cutting through the chaos like a blade through silk.
Galit's smirk returned, sharp and predatory. "It worked. But she brought something back with her."
Bianca's voice carried a note of confusion. "Like, brought something back? Like what?"
Vesta's voice cut through the exchange, her rainbow hair flickering with distress. "Um, I don't think this is as cool as you think it is."
Another gust of wind hit the dock, forcing Galit to cover his eyes. The serpent on the horizon was moving, its massive body coiling and uncoiling with the speed of a striking predator. The air around it shimmered with heat, and the sky itself darkened in its presence.
Galit's voice was flat, urgent. "Whatever you did, you may need to do it again. Whatever came through—it's going to need to be sent back."
The transponder snail crackled, and Jannali's voice cut through, "Bloody hell! What in the—"
Professor Manabu Kinsho's voice interrupted, sharp and panicked. "This is a disaster! This is what I was talking about! The energy output—the structural integrity—"
Bianca's voice cut through his protests with the force of a woman who had been underestimated too many times. "Like, whatever! I will, like, keep working on it. Just—just give me time."
Galit nodded, his emerald eyes fixed on the serpent. "Understood."
The transponder snail went silent.
Galit turned to the others, with the weight of command. "Everyone, move! Get the children on the sub! Now!"
The chaos erupted into motion.
Eliane grabbed the nearest child, her small arms wrapping around the trembling girl. "Come on! We're getting you out of here!"
Vesta's hands found the shoulders of two boys. "You heard the man! Move, move, move! Adventure awaits!"
Jelly bounced among the children, his gelatinous body expanding and contracting with each leap. "Bloop! This way! Follow the squishy one! I'll keep you safe! Probably! Definitely! Mostly!"
The children scrambled toward the gangplank, their small feet pounding against the wood. Galit moved among them, his long neck coiling and uncoiling as he herded them toward safety.
His emerald eyes never left the horizon.
The serpent was coming.
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