User:Smash The Echidna/Shadows of the East

Well Smash, since I'm sure we're both familiar with the rules and whatnot, let's just get right down to it, shall we?

Introduction
The light of the moon shone down like a crescent shaped hole in the sky, basking Green Flower City in its nightly brilliance. All was quiet as the suburb slept, blissfully unaware of what was looming in the distance. Two figures draped in shadow stood upon a hillside overlooking the city. They surveyed their surroundings carefully, creating a mental map to assist in navigation, and gaining a strong sense of their target. The shorter of the two took a a strong whiff, and growled in response.

"We should burn it down," he suggested to his comrad, "Grab the key and then come back for the bodies. This place is teeming with mana. The master will love it." The taller one remained motionless, unamused with his partner "Destruction is not always the answer, my furry friend," replied the tall one, "Life must be left to grow and flourish. To take it too soon, too quickly, would be a waste of good energies." He hopped down the side of the cliff, gesturing for his partner to follow. "Hurry up, we have few hours left before daybreak. Let's make this quick." The two made their way down the hillside, silently entering the city below.

Few citizens were awake at this hour. It was half-past two, and the residents of the Corliss household all slept soundly...All but one person; the man of the house himself. Smash just couldn't fall asleep. He'd had some restless nights before. This was just another one of them. He sat on the livingroom couch, drinking a glass of water. His mind drifted idly by as time passed on. After setting the empty glass down on the coffee table, he only felt more awake.

However, there was one way he knew to get himself tired. He quietly opened the back door in the kitchen, and headed outside to train himself. He would go through his regular training routine as if it were morning, and planned to wear himself out to be able to get some shut-eye. He had to be careful not to make much noise, otherwise he would wake someone inside--or worse; the neighbors. Little did he know that he would end up staying awake much longer than he intended...

The two mysterious figures proceeded through the city streets, careful to stay completely concealed. They closed in on a small house ornamenting a street corner. "The key is in there," the taller figure whispered to his comrad, "Stay out here while I go and grab it. If there are any problems, take the ground floor." Following a nod from his partner, the tall figure leaped gracefully into the air, landing perched on the sill of one of the second floor windows. Slowly and silently he pulled it open, pushing away the curtains on the inside. His slender silhouette remained still on the moonlit sky, face completely concealed, as four shadowed tendrils slithered out from his back and inside the house, weaving their way towards the young girl who rested peacefully in her bed.

The girl began to stir from the sudden draft, and turned over to try and warm up. The chao who slept with her, however, began to wake up. She shivered from the sudden chilly breeze, and began to pull more of the blanket over herself. She saw something moving at the corner of her eye, and glanced toward the window wondering why it was open--and immediately screamed. A shadowy figure with what appeared to be tentacles reaching for them both stood in the open window. The poor chao nearly had a heart attack, and her scream sent the little girl and her other chao leaping out of the bed. "Krysi what's wrong!?" She gasped. She and the blue male hero chao then saw what sent Krysi into a state of shock, and in turn, screamed as well.

The figure cringed as the girl unleashed her deafening shriek, but it didn't stop his advance. "Play nice, and I promise I won't hurt you," he hissed as his yellowish-green eyes glowed beneath his hood. His tendrils continued to approach, small areas on them crackling with electricity every few moments.

"N-No! Stay away!" Crystal backed away, and tripped over her blanket and onto the floor. She crawled up against the wall, trembling with fear. Her two chao hovered in front of her, bravely trying to defend her, but they were possibly even more terrified than she was. "Someone h-help! M-Mo-Moonsteeerrr!!" She cried out at the top of her lungs.

Due to her window being wide open, her screams echo'd throughout the neighborhood. Smash's attention was immediately caught and drawn towards the east. "Someone screaming at this hour?" It wasn't until he heard the actual cry for help when he actually recognized the voice. "That's Crystal!" Without wasting a second, he dashed towards the tall fence and sprung towards it. He hit the side of the wooden wall, and kicked himself backward and onto a nearby tree. Repeating his wallkick once more, he found himself soaring over the top of the fence and into the grass on the other side. He quickly dashed across the street and made his way towards Crystal's house.

The figure smacked away the two chao with his tendrils, which sent electric shocks through their bodies upon contact. "Krysi! Light!" Crystal squeaked. "Fine, have it your way," he scoffed, "I can play rough. Ceres! Crank the heat up!" The figure down below, Ceres, responded by breaking down the house's front door and storming inside, pushing forward as he spotted the staircase. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of an idle fireplace on the far wall. Snapping his fingers, the fireplace lit, bathing the lower floor in its dull orange glow. "Hm... much better."

It was at that moment when both of Crystal's parents came rushing into the room. "What's going on--WHO and WHAT is that!?" Her father exclaimed.

Hearing the door breaking open, Smash knew that Crystal must have been in serious danger. He soon made it to her front door, and was surprised to see a neon purple hedgehog coming the same way. "Violet!"

"Smash, What's going on? Are they alright?" Violet asked hastily.

"We're about to find out. C'mon!" The two rushed inside, and were about to head upstairs when they saw Ceres at the fireplace. "Hold it right there!" Smash commanded. Ceres growled, and lunged his right hand towards Smash, shouting, "Why don't you!" A powerful blast of Fire shot from his palm towards Smash and Violet, lighting the various bits of furniture it passed over. He then raised his other hand towards the staircase, instantly setting it ablaze.

"Look out!" Smash and Violet quickly leaped in opposite directions, letting the flames whiz by them and burn the wall behind them. Smash quickly dashed towards him from the side while he was burning the staircase, hoping to catch him off guard. Meanwhile Violet approached him head on.

Ceres unleashed a 360 degree blast of fire to repel the oncoming Smash and Violet. Bearing his teeth and claws, he growled at the two, his hands crackling with fire. Smash instinctively leaped above it, grabbing onto the chandelier and swinging himself towards him. He lifted his leg up, and attempted to axe kick him. Meanwhile, Violet slid under the flames, just barely avoiding getting burnt, and attempted to sweep kick him.

Back upstairs, the unnamed figure wrapped two of his tendrils around Crystal's arms to hold her still; the small jolts of electricity made her numb. With a third tendril, he brought her tail forward and gazed longingly at the crystal it beared. "Aha... just as they said," he murmered, "You're coming with me." At that moment his tendrils retracted, yanking Crystal towards him.

Crystal's father wrapped his arms around her torso, holding her back. "No! You're not taking my baby girl!" He declared. Crystal tried to struggle free, but the numbness kept her from using all of her strength. She then tried to create a barrier around herself and her father, and attempted to use it's power to restore her senses. Meanwhile Krysi and Light had just gotten over the temporary paralysis from the shock of the tendrils. Krysi flew over to the bed, grabbed Crystal's pillow, and tried to slam it against the man's face. Light went and grabbed a book and tried to bash the tendrils grabbing Crystal.

The efforts of the two Chao did nothing to stop the strange man, but they did further irritate him. His other two tendrils went to work prying Crystal's father off of her. As the barrier came up, it forced his tendrils back and caused them to flare with electricity. The brief light illuminated his face; he seemed to be some sort of squid. Forced back by the repulsion of the barrier, the squid lost his balance on the window sill and fell back. Oddly enough the sound of him hitting the ground couldn't be heard, if he even hit the ground at all. A strong breeze blew past the window as the room went silent once again.

After he fell, Crystal's mother quickly went to the window and shut it closed. "Are you alright, Crystal?" Her father asked, now cradling her in his arms.

"H-He was after me...Why was he after me...?" She let down the barrier and clung onto her father, nearly traumatized by the experience. Krysi and Light flew over and landed on her arm, trying to comfort her--but Light suddenly jolted back up and began sniffing the air. His emotiball showed an exclamation point, and he began to panic. "L-Light...? What's wrong? Is he coming--Wait, that smell..." Everyone began to sniff the air, and they all knew too well what it was. Smoke. It was then when they heard the commotion from downstairs. Krysi and Light flew over to the door and opened it, and a huge cloud of black smoke blew in.

"Oh my--It's a fire!!" Crystal's mother shrieked.

Downstairs, Ceres continued to fight off Smash and Violet. He was certainly strong, and his Fire seemed uncommonly powerful. Soon enough the whole room was set ablaze in the commotion, and Ceres was only getting more forceful. Jets of fire shot from his hands in every which direction, causing the temperature of the room to rise to unbearable levels. "You really don't want to see how hot I can go," Ceres growled.

Pieces of the ceiling were beginning to collapse. The chandelier fell down and broke on the coffee table. Smash and Violet were sweating bullets from the heat, and knew they wouldn't last much longer before the whole house collapsed. "Violet, I'm gonna need you to help Crystal and her family." Smash ordered.

Violet covered her mouth with her sleeve. "What about you?" She asked, worriedly.

"I'll think of something. Now hurry!" With that, Violet left the battlefield and headed upstairs.

Ceres waved one hand behind him, blasting the staircase with a powerful fireball as Violet ascended. With the other, he charged Smash and threw a quick, flame-laced punch towards the front door.

"Violet, watch out!" Smash called out. She skipped a few steps by jumping up the staircase, fortunately out of the blas's radius. With his attention turned to Violet, he had little time to defend himself, and narrowly avoided taking the blow. At least, that's what he felt. Upon turning around, it seemed that he was aiming for the door. What's this guy trying to do!? He wondered. He then grabbed a half-burning folding chair and hurled it at him.

The chair smashed against Ceres' shoulder, causing no visible damage. Hesitating for a moment, he quickly glanced back and forth between Smash and the stairs, finally deciding that Smash was a higher priority. He leaped forward, claws beared, aiming to tackle the echidna to the ground.

Smash slid his foot back a bit, positioning himself for a counter. As soon as Ceres was in range, he extended his other leg and unleashed a rapid flurry of kicks. He ended the combo by whirling around and giving one last swift kick towards his chest, which had the force to send him flying right back into the door.

With uncharacteristic grace, Ceres propped his hands against Smash's kicked and vaulted over the echidna, landing nearer to the doorway. He briefly glanced at his surroundings, then looked upward and shot a mighty blast of fire towards the ceiling. Concealed by the smoke from the blast, Ceres quickly fled outside.

Smash coughed and backed up, the smoke was getting to him. He looked around, realizing that he lost track of his enemy. "Violet! You'd better be okay up there!" He shouted. Just then the ceiling began to collapse in the area where Ceres shot the blast, causing Smash to leap back in reaction. "Crap..! They'll never make it out!" He realized. "Violet! Crystal!" He made his way through the burning obstacles and rushed upstairs. He had to leap over a burning gap in the staircase on his way up.

Smash burst into the room, just in time to find everyone trying to make it out the window. Crystal was hovering just outside the window, her entire body glowing white, while everyone was climbing out and grabbing onto her. Smash recognized this skill immediately. "Is everyone okay!?" He called out.

"Don't worry, Smash!" Violet said, being the only one who wasn't with Crystal. "Let's just try to get out ourselves!"

"Right." Crystal began to descend, and the fire had begun to spread further into her room. The floor was starting to give away beneath Smash and Violet's feet. "Alright Violet, hang on tight--this'll be a close call!" He lifted her up into his arms, and ran towards the window. Violet yelped and squealed lightly as they made a daring leap out the room. They ended up landing in the grass several feet away from Crystal's family. "You okay? Smash asked as he set Violet down.

"I-I'm fine. I just thought we'd use the door, is all." Violet dusted herself off. "There's a reason we didn't, y'know. We'd never make it there." They then looked over at Crystal, who had set everyone down by now. "How about you all? Are you guys okay?" He called out.

From the roof of the burning house came an unexpected response. "Why yes, I am. I appreciate your concern." The squid-like Mobian was once again perched high off the ground. His tentacles shot down and struck the ground like lightning, kicking up mounds of dust and debris to separate Crystal and her family from Smash and Violet. With a mighty leap the squid jumped down from the roof, landing in the cloud of dust and facing Smash and Violet. He whipped two his tentacles forward again, rhythmically striking the ground beneath the two heroes' feet.

"I'll make you wish you hadn't interfered with our plans," he hissed over the crackle of his electricity.

"I don't know nor care who the heck you guys THINK you are." Smash retorted, "But I'M going to make you wish you'd never turned my friend's house into an indoor barbecue!" He and Violet returned to their battle stances. It was at that moment when they all heard voices calling out to them. In the direction towards Smash's house, A pink echidna with long purple hair came rushing towards them in her pajamas. In the opposite direction towards Violet's house, was a red hedgehog who was also in his pajamas.

"Smash, Violet! What on earth!?" Pearl exclaimed in disbelief. "Okay who's the jerk this time!?" An enraged Speedy demanded. They both entered the yard to see the squid in between their friends. "Eh-EW!" Was his reaction upon seeing it.

As Pearl and Speedy approached, they were quickly entangled by the squid's two free tentacles and pumped full of high voltage electricity. Meanwhile he continued to strike at the ground beneath Smash and Violet, forcing them away from him as well as Crystal. Amidst the commotion, Ceres reappeared and conjured a dome of fire to trap the surely terrified family.

"Ghaaa!" The two were almost completely paralyzed by the electricity coursing through them. "Sma-aa-aaaash!" Pearl shrieked in pain. Speedy tried to free himself by flaring his body up, hoping to burn the tentacles off, but Pearl was completely helpless.

"Okay, no." Smash stopped backing off when he grabbed up his friends. Suddenly, a blast of energy surrounded him, and launched him forward like a catapult. He concentrated all of his energy into warding off the electricity until he was in range to body slam the octopus. Violet then picked up a stick and ran towards the tentacle holding Pearl, and began to beat down on it.

Speedy's flames had no visible effect, and the stick merely broke against the tentacle with a faint 'clang'. The squid quickly pulled his two free tentacles back, crossing them in front of his body and bracing himself for Smash's attack. Upon contact it became clear that the tentacles were at least partly metallic, and they served to greatly reduce the force of the impact. Glaring at Smash with piercing eyes, the squid flexed the two tentacles to throw the echidna away. Smash landed only a couple of feet away from him, and prepared to keep on the offensive. Pearl and Speedy collapsed to their knees, trying to hold their numb bodies together.

Crystal formed another barrier around her family, standing in the center of it all. "S-Stay back!" She ordered, timidly. Ceres expectedly chose not to comply and continued his approach, snarling aggressively. Just then, a powerful wind blew, extinguishing the beast's flames and knocking him off balance. At the same time the squid's occupied tentacles were stuck by two quick slashes, severing them from his body. The squid knelt down, writhing in pain, before angrily shouting, "Grrah! They've followed us!"

That was the opening he needed. Smash cocked his fist back and hurled a devastating punch towards the squid's head. Violet rushed over to Pearl and helped her up. "Are you alright?" She asked, helping her stand.

Pearl coughed a bit. "I-I'll live. I've f-felt worse." She said in a shaky voice. Violet assisted her walking, and made her way over to Speedy.

The squid jumped back out of the way of Smash's punch, narrowly avoiding it in his current state. "There's at least two of them," Ceres shouted, sniffing around, "We'll come back for it, Alder. We need to leave. Now." Alder ignored his comrad's words and instead charged at Smash, drawing a side-sword from beneath his cloak. With a loud clang, the squid was suddenly stopped dead in his stracks, his blade pinned by two katana. From a puff of smoke a slender, reptilian Mobian now stood before the squid. Alder stared this newcommer in the eyes for a brief moment, before cautiously backing away. Now in mutual agreement, the two leaped away and hid amongst the rooftops, disappearing into the night. Satisfied, the mysterious swordsman sheathed his blades and let out a sigh of relief.

Smash stared at him, cautiously keeping his guard up. "Who are you?" He asked, firmly.

Speedy coughed and staggered over to them, his body still feeling numb from the electricity. "Can somebody PLEASE tell me what's going on here?" Not long after he spoke, the sound of blaring sirens could be heard off in the distance.

"I deeply apologize we did not arrive sooner," the swordsman spoke, "Had we been quicker, perhaps this poor girl's home could have been spared." A moment of remorseful silence followed before he continued, "I am known as Master Minarai - you may call me Kuro." Once again the wind blew strongly, bringing with it another, this one a dragonfly. "And I am Master Takayama - Eiji to friends," he said kindly, "We come from the Dragon Kingdom, as do your two unwelcomed guests... though we aren't affiliated, I assure you that."

Kuro slowly approached Crystal and her family, kneeling down to her level. "Those two didn't hurt you, did they?" he asked. As she stood before him, he noticed the crystal still safely attached to her tail and lightly smiled. Standing straight once again, Kuro turned back to Smash and called in a much more serious tone, "If you all value your lives, you'll need to come with us."

Smash stood down, and folded his arms. "Forgive me if I seem rather distrusting, but how do you know Crystal? And how did you know what was happening here?"

It wasn't long before the source of the sirens arrived on the scene. Fire trucks and police cars came to a screeching halt in front of the house. The firemen quickly unloaded off the truck, bringing the large hoses to the front while hooking it to a nearby fire hydrant in the back. A team of police officers headed over to the group. "Is everyone alright? What happened here?" One of them asked.

"If I'm seeing Smash out here, then I'm pretty sure it's something big." Another officer stated, one who greatly resembled Speedy.

"Well, from what I gather, these two crazy guys came up and started burning the place down for whatever reason." Speedy explained.

"Crystal is in gave danger," Eiji explained, "And you all are as well just by being here. She has been targeted by dark forces. They seek the artifact attached to her tail. Thankfully those two didn't get their hands on it." The dragonfly then flew into the air and aided the firefighters in their task with his Wind powers, while Kuro continued, "She's not safe here. None of you are. We're here to take her back with us to the Dragon Kingdom, so that she may be given the protection she requires. I assume you all wish to accompany her, so I will answer any questions you may have at our destination."

"Well heck if I'm gonna let her leave with some strangers." Smash responded. "Still, I suggest we leave in the morning so that we can let everyone know what's going on." He looked over on at Crystal and her family. "Are you guys okay with this?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice now, do we?" Her father said.

Crystal simply stared blankly at the ground. She couldn't understand why they wanted the jewel so badly. She looked up when Smash started to speak again. "You all can stay at my place for the night." he offered.

 * * *

Meanwhile, Ceres and Alder had already arrived back at their base of operations, an ancient-looking shrine within a desolate, mountainous region. As they climbed the steps of the shrine, they were greeted by a tall figured completely shrouded in white and black robes. "You don't have it, do you?" the figure spoke. Ceres muttered a response, saying, "The Orochi Masters ambushed us, alongside the locals... we were overpowered." The robed figure glared at Ceres from under his hood, then shot a blast of black flames at him. "Master will have none of your excuses!" he scolded, "...This turn of events have left me very unhappy, but corporal punishment seems a touch harsh. Alder, you're to repair yourself and attack again. Be sure that they don't reach the Sanctuary. Ceres, I'll leave you to Master." The squid gave a disgruntled nod and walked off, while his companion continued up the steps, prepared for the worst.

Chapter 1
Morning came early for Eiji and Kuro. The two had found their own accomodations for the night, and made their way to Smash's house shortly after dawn. Kuro knocked on the door with enough force for it to be heard throughout the house, while Eiji flew up high and scanned the horizons.

The door soon opened, revealing Smash's face from behind it. "Ah, you're here." He said. "I've arranged a meeting to discuss the situation. Come inside."

Kuro curiously looked about the interior of the house as he stepped inside. "I must admit, I'm impressed," he started, "I was half-expecting you to be still asleep at this hour." Eiji soon flew in after him, and gave a similar visual inspection. "This meeting had best be quick. As I expressed last night, time is of the essence."

"I'm usually up earlier than this." Smash noted. "Anyway, the meeting shouldn't take too much longer. I've already pretty much filled them in on the details; We just need a brief explanation of what we'll be doing, and preparing for the trip." He lead the two into a different room, where several of Smash's friends gathered. The ones from last night, as well as others they hadn't seen before. "Alright everyone, these are the two I mentioned." He turned to Eiji and Kuro, "If you could introduce yourselves and explain where we're going, that should be all everyone needs to know for the time being."

Eiji stepped forward and spoke for the both of them. "I am Master Eiji Takayama, and my friend is Master Kuro Minarai. We are two of eight masters of the Orochi Clan, hailing from the Dragon Kingdom. There is a sanctuary deep within that land of which the Orochi Clan shares protection. It is the only place where Crystal will be safe from the evil that seeks her."

Violet rose her hand, as if to ask a question. "But where exactly is the Dragon Kingdom?" She asked. "I've never heard of it, so I can only assume it's pretty far."

"Hmm...I think I have, actually." A yellow hedgehog in a sailor's uniform spoke up, thoughtfully stoking his chin. "I recall hearing of some place far to the east; something dragon related, if I'm not mistaken."

"That is correct," Kuro replied, "Our homeland, the Dragon Kingdom, dominates most of the eastern continent of Yurashia. It's understandable that you would be unfamilar. Amongst the rest of Mobius, our people tend to keep to themselves."

"I see. So it is pretty far, huh...?" Violet leaned back in her chair, looking down while kicking her legs back and forth.

"Fortunately you have me." The hedgehog stated, somewhat proudly. "As captain of the Thunder Bolt, I'll gladly escort you all to Yurashia."

"Hey wait, I have a question that's been bugging me." Pearl spoke up with a raised hand. "Didn't you say that our..'enemies', were also from the Dragon Kingdom? How will moving towards the enemy help keep us safer? Is the sanctuary that well guarded?"

"It is indeed," Eiji answered, "Unfortunately it doesn't matter where we go. They will strike at us from anywhere, regardless of where they operate from." As Eiji spoke, Kuro fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out a small golden ring. "Hmm... the Warp Ring's power is low. It won't be able to move us all." To the yellow hedgehog he continued, "It seems you're our best option right now."

"Warp Ring?" Thunder asked as Kuro glanced at him. Most of the others curiously took a glimpse at it while it was exposed. "That's one thing I've never heard of."

Shrugging it off, Smash continued with procedures. "Alright, now that we know where and how we're going, I suppose we ought to get ready to go." He said. "Now, who all is coming with us?"

"Well, of course I am." Thunder said. "Though out of my brethren, only Zap will be accompanying us. Electric is running errands out of town with Estrella, and Lightning is spending time with his girlfriend.." He frowned in disappointment, knowing that it couldn't be helped.

Smash shrugged. "Besides you and Crystal, there's also me, Speedy, a--" "Wait I didn't even say I wanted to go." Speedy protested. "You don't get a say in this." Smash retorted in a teasing voice, causing Speedy to pout.

"Pearl and I decided to come, as well." Violet said. "Yeah, Crystal's our friend, too. We can't abandon her at a time like this." Pearl added on. "Well, you can count me in too." A red and blue multicolored hedgehog joined in. "I got a bad feeling about all this, so I'm pretty worried."

"Yeah, same here." A red cat agreed with him. "And between Crystal losing her home and hiding out in a strange new place, I can't really imagine what she's going through right now."

Crystal, who was sitting at the far end of the table with both parents at either side, solemnly looked down into her lap. "Thanks, everyone.."

"Then we should head off immediately," said Kuro, "The Dragon Kingdom awaits, and there's no time to lose." Eiji smiled and nodded, kindly taking a backseat to Kuro's leadership.

"Alright then." Thunder stood up. "Zap and I will go on ahead and prepare the ship. Meet us at the port." He looked over to his side, gesturing for his little brother to follow him out the door. With that, Smash looked over at everyone else. "Alright, if any of you have anything else you need to do or get or whatever, Now's your last chance. We ready?"

"I got all I'll need." Splice assured. "Uh--Gimmie a moment to phone my dad." Gizmo said. "I gotta tell him I'll be gone for a while, and I'll need to stop by home on the way to pick up my gear."

"Alright. Then we'll all just meet Thunder at the port as soon as possible. Got it?" Smash ordered. "Meeting adjourned!" Everyone rose from their seats and hurried out to finish their business...

A short time passed before the heroes were gathered at the docks, in front of a semi-large white ship. There was a long, yellow lightning bolt painted across the sides of the hull. Eiji flew around gazing at Thunder's ship in admiration. "This is quite the vessel you have," he called down to the yellow hedgehog. Kuro waited down below, wanting to be sure everyone was on the ship before he boarded himself.

Thunder stopped on his way down the ramp, and looked up to answer. "Thank you. The Thunderbolt has been my pride and joy for many years now."

Smash walked to the ship's ramp and turned to face the group. "Alright, is everyone present and accounted for?" Everyone rose their hands as Smash counted them off. "Alright then." He glanced at Thunder, who nodded in response.

"All aboard!" He announced. The group all headed up the ramp and onto the ship's deck, while Thunder headed over to prepare to set sail.

With all passengers accounted for, the mighty ship finally departed from the docks of Green Flower City. Its journey would be one of several days but, with no other convenient means of transportation, it would have to do. Kuro stood at the bow of the ship, looking to the waters ahead. He spent little time with the others, unlike Eiji who tried to establish a friendliness with them.

"A dark premonition looms over the horizon..." Kuro muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the others were on the deck, discussing the situation. "I still don't understand." Crystal said, hugging her tail insecurely. "Why do they want Grandma's jewel? Why is it so important to them that they would destroy our home just to get it...?"

Violet folded her arms, looking troubled. "I'm confused, too. As far as I know, it's power is used to protect. I've rarely ever seen you use it in an offensive way."

"Perhaps there's more to it than we know." Smash suggested, leaning on the wall of the cabin with his arms folded. He eyed Eiji with a hint of suspicion, feeling that if anyone could answer that question, it'd be either him or Kuro.

When all was silent, the cabin was suddenly struck with a violent tremble. The whole boat seemed to rock, then a moment of calm, followed by another tremor. "This isn't good," Eiji muttered as he quickly flew out onto the deck. The periodic pattern of pounding and shaking continued, making a mess of the inner ship. How the exterior faired was yet to be seen.

Thunder was startled by the sudden banging and shaking. He began looking around, alert and worried. "Thunder! What's going on!?" Splice yelled out. "Are we under attack!?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out!" Thunder called back. His grip on the wheel tightened as the others struggled to maintain their balance. Smash knelt down to the floor, finding it easier while down low. "Is there something inside the ship that's causing this?"

After a brief moment, and much more shaking, Eiji had returned. "Some extra hands on deck would be much appreciated," he said with distress in his voice. Everyone rushed out of the cabin to see what was happening. Crystal was about to run out with everyone else until he ordered, "Keep Crystal down here, with someone protecting her." At which she stopped in her tracks. Everyone had already fled out the room without her. Someone soon hurried back inside with her. It was Zap.

Leading the group outside, Eiji directed their attention to the starboard waters. Off in the distance another, mighty vessel approached. It appeared to be some sort of pirate ship, as its sails were black and it was in the process of bombarding the Thunderbolt with cannon fire. "It appears Alder has some unfinished business with us," Kuro explained with a masking sense of calm.

Smash growled lightly. "Tsk! Just our luck."

"They won't sink this ship anytime soon." Thunder shook his fist. "Load the cannons! Return fire!" On his order, the gang scurried about as Thunder opened up the hatches with the cannons. While they loaded the cannons, Gizmo took aim from the deck with his Hand Cannon, equipping it with a Flame Elemental ring, and literally returned fire to the opposing ship.

Thunder stood by, supervising the group with the cannons for a moment before stepping out and heading back to the wheel. He swished his hand through the air, and pointed his palm forward. A gust of wind blew from behind, collecting in the sails and pushing the ship further. He spun the wheel, and hoped to use this increased speed to maneuver around their enemy.

The pirate ship turned with the Thunderbolt, and kept up until the two vessels were side by side. On the deck of the pirate ship stood Alder, now sporting a black coat and two new tentacles. With him were dozens of his crew; a vicious looking bunch, each carrying a weapon - swords, axes and the like. Alder was confident, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Hand over the girl and you all walk away alive," he called over, "Otherwise, we do this the hard way."

"Over my dead body!" Splice barked back. "You're not taking her away from us!"

"This is all your gettin' from me!" Speedy pulled a 360 spin, his hands soon crackling with flames, and fired a large ball of flames out of both palms towards Alder.

Suddenly the cannons fired. At such a close range, their accuracy was spot on. Cannon balls bombarded the side of the pirate ship's hull, and the fireballs coming from both Speedy and Gizmo continued. Splice then added on with his own fireballs, aiming at their sails.

The cannon balls collided not with the ship itself, but with a strange barrier resting on its surface. Alder chuckled at his opponents' futile efforts, crossing two tentacles in front of himself to block Speedy's fireball, and batting Splice's away with the other two.

"So be it," the squid growled, "Alright men, give 'em all y'got! Let the girl be yer only prisoner!" In the excitement an accent grew noticeable on his voice, that of a true pirate though rather faint.

With ropes, wings, or whatever they had at their disposal, Alder's crew made their way across the waters to the Thunderbolt and attacked in a frenzy. Alder himself made a mighty leap, and brought two tentacles down hard sending a shockwave of electricity across the deck of the ship. He glared ahead, his eyes filled with a more determined fury than the night before.

Splice drew his daggers as he and Speedy attempted to hold them off, though were momentarily stunned by the shockwave. After seeing the barrier around the enemy ship, the cannons ceased fire. Everyone left the area, as Thunder gave the command for all hands to the deck. He stood in front of the cabin door, wielding a lightning rod. He held his ground and protected the entrance.

Soon the others made it to the deck, and helped to fend off the crew. They worked their way toward the cabin, trying to keep them away at all costs. Gizmo retreated back to Thunder, and began sniping the enemies with his cannon loaded with plasma energy.

The pirates drew swords, hooks, chains, the works. Many tried to make their way down below, but were efficiently held off by the heroes' defenses. However, as time went on it became apparent that the heroes were outnumbered. With their large numbers the pirates slowly made a push for the cabin, and with Alder's help success didn't seem too far out of reach. He batted away those who stood before him with his electrified beatsticks and approached Thunder meanacingly. Eiji and Kuro tried to stop him, but were busy fending off his goons. "Don't let him get inside!" the gecko yelled.

Thunder grasped his rod with both hands. He was prepared for the worst. Gizmo shot at Alder a couple of times, hoping to slow his progress at best. Speedy and Splice lunged at the squid from both sides, but were promptly tossed off like before.

Smash, Pearl and Violet were all surrounded by pirates, and though they were holding up pretty well together, they weren't making much progress in clearing them out. "Got a plan?" Violet asked, struggling against a goon with a chain.

"There's too many of em. I don't have the breathing room FOR a plan!" Smash remarked after taking another down, only to be attacked by two more.

Gizmo's cannonfire did succeed to slow Alder down, but not by much. After a few shots, he finally grew irritated and fired one of his tentacles in Gizmo's direction, aiming to slow him down just the same... or kill him, whichever came first. With another tentacle he struck Thunder's staff hard, pumping it with several thousand volts of electricity.

Gizmo held his Hand Cannon sideways to block the tentacle from hitting him in the face, while Thunder just held on as he felt the electricity coarsing through his body. His staff began to crackle and spark, while his body began to vibrate. He felt energized, completely charged, but having so much electricity flowing into his body non-stop was starting to make him feel numb.

Kuro, noticing that all four of Alder's tentacles were occupied, disappeared in a puff of smoke and left his share of the grunts to Eiji. He reappeared in the same fashion in front of Alder and slashed at him with one of his katana. Alder, however, was quick on the draw, and unsheathed a fancy looking cutlass from his belt with he used to repel Kuro. "Yer gonna have to do better than that," he growled.

Splice and Speedy tried once more to attack him, but couldn't get passed the tentacles that kept fending them off. Finally, Splice had enough of it, and attempted to slice them off. Meanwhile, Speedy tried to get a few fireballs past the tentacle to hit Alder in the side of the face.

Alder's tentacles seemed a bit more durable this time, easily resisting Splice's attempts to cut them off. He attempted to wrap one around Splice, charging his body with a paralyzing shock. One of Speedy's fireballs caught Alder in the jacket - an infuriating distraction while he was dueling with Kuro. Taking a grasp of Thunder's staff, he tried to hurl it - and Thunder himself, should he hold on - toward Speedy.

Though Alder still stood strong, his backup appeared to be slowly deteriorating. One by one the pirates' forces seemed to thin out, but they still persisted. Pushing to the door down below, they tried with burning determination to break through.

Thunder was not a very heavy person, though his grip was too strong for him to take away his staff. This eventually lead to Thunder finding himself being tossed into the air. He performed a small flip and stomped his feet toward the ground, coming to a stop right in front of Speedy, who had jumped sideways to dodge. "Whoa! Geez, man!"

"Sorry." Thunder brushed himself off and turned back to Alder. "We can't let him get through!" He charged right back toward him and attempted to slam his staff into his back. Speedy fired another barrage of fireballs, hoping to distract him at least. Meanwhile, Splice was having difficulty cutting off the tentacles, but didn't stop his assault. His response to the attempt to grab hold of him was to attack with even greater force. His arm moved at an intense speed, becoming a blur while rapidly slashing and striking at the tentacle with the intent of fending it off backward, and with the force to do it, too. He then pulled back and struck with both daggers in a powerful horizontal cross slash.

Pearl and Violet were beginning to tire out, driving off all the mooks. But Smash was tired in a different manner. Even though they were thinning out, there was still too many of them. The continuous waves after waves was simply aggravating when he knew Alder was the main threat. Taking a quick glance over at the battle with the squid every chance he got, he wasn't sure if they could really handle him. He wanted to get over there and help, but with all these random pirates getting in his way, that wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. Finally, he had enough when three of them tried to hold him down while another was about to strike him. He sent his foot crashing against the man's chin, before striking him in the gut. He spun around and slammed the guy on his right against a pole, while tossing the guy on his left to the ground. He grabbed the guy behind him and hurled him over his shoulder. "Alright, I am through with you people!" He yelled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" One of the pirates yelled back, running in to strike him head on, only to be taken out by Pearl. Another one charged at him from the side, swinging a chain and hook around over his head.

"It means that I'll Blow you away!" Smash unleashed a blast of energy as he powered up to his High Tension state. He grabbed Pearl and Violet's arms and made a great leap backward, making sure the majority of the pirates were in front of him. He released his grip on them and barreled in toward the crew, shoulder first. "Get out of my sight!" With a swing of his arm, he forced out all his energy the way he generally did while trying to push something back. Only he put far more strength into it. He put all his strength and frustration into blowing them all back, that the aura surrounding him was thrown forward with it. "UURRGHIII!!" As his battle cry rang out, his forced energy created an explosion which blew not only his foes back, but he himself was thrown backward and out of his powered up state. His aura was left behind, fading away after taking the shape of a beast's head.