The Captain's Very Bad Idea
The sun had begun its slow descent toward the horizon, turning the desert from an endless sheet of glaring gold into something almost beautiful. Long shadows stretched across the dunes, the sky had softened into warm shades of amber, and the enormous sandship continued steadily onward with the deep, comforting hum of its engines. After everything that had happened that day, the boys had taken advantage of this rare period in which nobody was attacking them, chasing them or attempting to turn them into something unpleasant. Haruto had found a comfortable place near one of the walls, Renji was sitting with his arms folded and his eyes closed, Shun had somehow managed to continue working even while half-asleep, and Yuto had curled up beside his partner. Caelan lay nearby beneath the shade with both hands behind his head, while Sparky had settled beside him and was already snoring with surprising enthusiasm for something so small. Misaki and Airi had disappeared farther into the ship some time earlier, leaving the deck unusually quiet.
It was, in other words, precisely the sort of peaceful moment that generally meant something terrible was about to happen.
The captain had been waiting for it.
From a narrow passage overlooking the resting area, Gorgonbeak watched his passengers through narrowed red eyes. He was an enormous avian Aetherkin, standing nearly three metres tall, with heavy cream-coloured plumage broken by dark violet feathers along his wings and shoulders. His long neck ended in a reptilian head rather than anything one might reasonably expect to find on a bird, complete with jagged teeth and hard scales around the eyes. He had spent the journey pretending to be little more than an irritable captain interested in reaching the other side of the desert. In truth, he had been waiting for an opportunity to deal with the children quietly. His orders from Master Eidon had been simple enough: the travellers were becoming troublesome, and troublesome things were best removed before they became dangerous.
Gorgonbeak preferred uncomplicated instructions.
He reached toward a valve built into the wall.
A faint hiss followed.
Colourless gas slipped through the ventilation ducts.
Nobody noticed.
Haruto's head slowly drooped against his shoulder. Renji managed to frown in his sleep, which seemed somehow appropriate. Shun's fingers stopped halfway across the controls of his Resonance Linker. Yuto curled more tightly against his partner. Sparky gave one final little electrical crackle and went limp beside Caelan.
Caelan lasted longer.
His cultivation naturally resisted poisons and foreign substances far better than an ordinary human body could, but the gas had been prepared specifically for powerful Aetherkin and was being pumped directly into an enclosed section of the ship. His eyes opened once, unfocused, then closed again as the drug dragged him downward.
Gorgonbeak waited.
Nothing moved.
A pleased expression spread across his face.
He stepped from the passage.
"Far easier than expected."
He raised one wing.
A sickly grey light gathered around the feathers.
The first beam struck Haruto's partner.
Stone spread instantly across fur and flesh, racing from the point of impact until the creature had become a motionless grey statue. Gorgonbeak turned to the next. Then the next. Within seconds several of the sleeping children and their companions had been trapped beneath the same petrifying power, their bodies stiff and colourless.
The captain clicked his teeth together in satisfaction.
"Master Eidon should be pleased."
He moved toward Caelan.
That was when Caelan's eyes opened.
There was no gradual awakening.
One moment he was asleep.
The next something inside him screamed danger, and consciousness returned in full.
His body moved before his thoughts had quite caught up.
Grey light flashed across the deck.
Caelan rolled sideways.
The petrification beam struck the floor where his head had been a fraction of a second earlier, turning part of the metal dull grey.
Caelan came to his feet several metres away, blinked hard and rubbed one eye.
His head felt as though somebody had filled it with wool.
"What..."
He looked around.
Stone figures.
Sleeping children.
Gorgonbeak.
Caelan stared at him.
Then at the petrified patch of deck.
Then back at Gorgonbeak.
"Oh."
His expression flattened.
"You're the problem."
Gorgonbeak recoiled in surprise. "You should be unconscious."
"I was."
Caelan shook his head vigorously.
"Then you tried something stupid."
Gorgonbeak's eyes narrowed.
Caelan's senses were returning quickly now, ki surging through his system and forcing the remaining drug from his body. At the same time, he strengthened himself automatically. Ki flooded muscle, bone, nerves and organs, enhancing the entire body as naturally as drawing breath. It was the first thing any competent cultivator did upon entering battle.
Then Caelan noticed something considerably more interesting.
Gorgonbeak had attacked him.
Actually attacked him.
Destiny had not stopped him.
Caelan's golden eyes sharpened.
That meant the creature before him was no weakling.
For the first time since arriving in this world, something had possessed enough power to initiate violence against him.
The irritation on Caelan's face faded.
A small grin replaced it.
Gorgonbeak mistook this for nervousness.
"You're smiling?"
Caelan rolled one shoulder.
"I was getting bored."
The captain's expression darkened.
Grey light gathered around his eyes.
Caelan moved.
The beam passed through empty air.
He appeared several metres to the left with a burst of wind curling around his legs.
Gorgonbeak spun surprisingly quickly for something his size and snapped one wing forward. A storm of violet feathers shot across the deck, each hardened to the sharpness of a blade. Caelan swept one arm sideways. Wind rolled outward in a broad current, catching the projectiles and throwing most of them into the walls, but several punched through the air current and buried themselves deeply in the deck around him.
Caelan glanced down.
"Not bad."
Gorgonbeak charged.
The deck shook beneath his talons.
Caelan stepped aside at the last possible moment and drove a ki-strengthened fist into the creature's ribs.
The impact boomed across the ship.
Gorgonbeak staggered two steps.
Only two.
Caelan's eyebrows rose.
Gorgonbeak wheeled around and struck with one wing.
Caelan crossed both arms and blocked.
The blow launched him across the corridor.
His boots scraped several metres along the floor before he stopped himself with a sharp current of wind.
Now he was definitely smiling.
"You really are stronger than the others."
"Do you finally understand?" Gorgonbeak snarled. "You're nothing but a Juvenile!"
Caelan straightened.
"People here keep saying that like it means something."
The captain opened his beak and released another petrifying flash.
Caelan bent backward.
Grey light passed inches above his nose.
He pushed against the floor with one foot and shot forward, wind curling around his body. Gorgonbeak guarded his chest with both wings just before Caelan's palm struck. The wind behind the blow detonated on contact, sending the captain skidding backward, talons carving grooves into the floor.
But he had blocked it.
Caelan noticed.
Gorgonbeak noticed him noticing.
The captain grinned.
Then the ship shook.
A violent impact came from somewhere below.
Voices echoed through the corridors.
The sleeping gas had not reached everyone.
"Airi!"
Misaki's shout rang out from below.
Gorgonbeak's head snapped around.
Caelan glanced toward the stairway.
Two figures came racing onto the deck.
Misaki appeared first, followed closely by Airi. Their partners were already changing beside them, bodies blazing with the light of evolution.
Airi's partner grew upward in a burst of green radiance. Thick limbs formed, covered in cactus flesh and rows of sharp thorns. When the light faded, a tall feminine cactus creature stood beside her, broad boxing gloves covering both hands, powerful legs planted firmly against the deck. Despite the ridiculous combination of cactus and prizefighter, Cactara carried herself with the unmistakable confidence of someone perfectly willing to punch an enormous bird in the face.
Misaki's partner evolved beside her in a surge of flame.
Feathers expanded.
Wings spread wide.
A great crimson avian creature burst from the light, flames curling along its wings and tail as Emberwing released a fierce cry.
Gorgonbeak hissed.
Airi took one look at the petrified children.
Her face changed.
"What did you do to them?"
"Nothing permanent," Gorgonbeak replied.
"That wasn't the right answer."
Cactara charged.
She moved much faster than her bulky shape suggested.
Gorgonbeak barely had time to cross one wing before a green boxing glove slammed into it with a crack like breaking timber. He staggered, and Cactara followed with another punch, then another, fists flashing in a rapid combination that forced the captain backward.
Emberwing swept overhead.
Flames poured from her beak.
Gorgonbeak wrapped his wings around himself, taking the fire across his outer feathers before exploding outward with a violent flap. Wind blasted through the corridor, forcing Cactara backward and sending Misaki and Airi scrambling for cover.
Caelan remained where he was.
His own wind curled around him and split the gust harmlessly to either side.
Gorgonbeak saw it.
"So you control wind."
Caelan tilted his head.
"Among other things."
The captain's eyes flashed grey.
Caelan shifted aside.
The petrification beam streaked past him and forced Emberwing into a sharp aerial roll.
"Watch his eyes!" Misaki shouted.
"I noticed!" Airi called back.
Cactara raised both boxing gloves as another storm of feathers came toward her. Several bounced from the thick green padding while others buried themselves in the deck around her. She pushed forward regardless and landed a heavy hook against Gorgonbeak's side.
He retaliated immediately.
One wing struck her across the chest.
Cactara flew backward.
"Airi!" Misaki shouted.
"I'm fine!" Airi answered, already running toward her partner.
Emberwing dived.
Fire exploded across Gorgonbeak's back.
He screeched and spun, snapping his jaws toward her, but Emberwing climbed away before they closed.
Caelan watched the exchange for several seconds.
The captain was strong.
Strong enough that Cactara and Emberwing could hurt him, but not enough to overwhelm him. His petrification made every mistake dangerous, and his physical strength allowed him to remain aggressive even while fighting three opponents.
Caelan had been treating the battle lightly.
That had been entertaining.
The petrified children behind him changed matters.
He exhaled.
"Alright."
Wind stirred around his body.
Misaki glanced toward him.
Something changed.
Blue light appeared beneath Caelan's feet.
Not the soft glow of evolution.
This was sharper.
Older.
Lines of energy rose around him like pieces of an enormous formation. Silver appeared first, flowing over his boots and legs before shaping itself into fitted armour. Blue plates followed across his torso and shoulders, edged with polished silver and locking together until none of his body remained exposed. Gauntlets formed over his hands. A heavy blue cape dropped behind him and snapped immediately in the growing wind.
The final piece closed around his head.
A knight stood where the boy had been.
Full silver-and-blue armour covered Caelan from head to toe, elegant rather than bulky, every plate fitting closely enough that his movement remained completely unhindered.
Then he held out one hand.
Light gathered.
A lance emerged from it.
It was enormous.
White and silver ran the length of the weapon, from its reinforced grip to the broad, vicious point at the end. It was not a spear meant for quick little thrusts. It was the weapon of a mounted knight—a weapon designed to put all the force of a charge into a single devastating point.
Airi stared.
"You had armour?"
Caelan looked toward Gorgonbeak.
"Yes."
"You didn't think that was worth mentioning?"
"No."
Gorgonbeak roared and launched himself forward.
Caelan moved.
The difference was immediate.
His armoured foot touched the deck once.
Wind burst behind him.
The two met in the centre.
Gorgonbeak's wing slammed against the shaft of the lance.
Metal rang.
The captain's eyes widened.
Caelan had not moved.
He twisted the lance.
Gorgonbeak's wing was forced aside.
The blunt side of the weapon crashed into his chest and hurled him backward through a wooden partition.
Airi's mouth fell open.
Misaki stared.
Caelan followed.
Gorgonbeak burst back through the wreckage with a scream, feathers flying in every direction. Caelan rotated the lance once and wind spiralled around its shaft, knocking the projectiles aside. The captain fired his petrifying gaze.
Caelan tilted the weapon.
The beam struck the broad silver guard near his hand and scattered away in grey sparks.
Then Cactara came from the side.
Her glove buried itself in Gorgonbeak's ribs.
Emberwing descended from above.
Fire washed across his back.
Gorgonbeak stumbled.
Caelan drove the butt of his lance into the captain's stomach.
The enormous bird folded around it.
Caelan withdrew.
Gorgonbeak dropped to one knee.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then he laughed.
Low at first.
Then louder.
"You think you've won?"
The captain's body began glowing with a dull red light.
Heat rolled from him.
The metal beneath his talons started to discolor.
Misaki's eyes widened.
"Get back!"
Gorgonbeak launched himself forward.
He crossed the deck at tremendous speed.
Cactara tried to intercept him.
He smashed through her guard.
Emberwing attacked from above.
A burst of heated air knocked her aside.
His entire body had become a charging weapon, enormous, fast and wrapped in enough heat to distort the air around him.
Straight toward Caelan.
Caelan did not move.
Not immediately.
Inside his golden eyes, something shifted.
Path Maker.
The battlefield changed.
Not physically.
Possibilities unfolded.
Gorgonbeak charging.
Cactara recovering to the left.
Emberwing circling above.
The angle of the deck.
The ship's movement.
The timing of the captain's next step.
Hundreds of actions existed.
Dozens could prolong the battle.
A handful could injure Gorgonbeak.
Three could defeat him.
One ended it cleanly.
Caelan saw the path.
His hand tightened around the lance.
"Found you."
Destiny flowed through the weapon.
The air changed.
Wind wrapped around the white-and-silver lance, not in a loose current but in layer after layer of compressed force. The spiral tightened until the weapon seemed surrounded by a translucent drill of screaming air. Then Destiny Enhancement settled over it, refining the angle, the timing, the force—turning a powerful strike into the strike that needed to happen.
Gorgonbeak charged.
Caelan took one step.
His cape snapped behind him.
Then he moved.
For a fraction of a second the deck vanished beneath a burst of wind.
Silver and blue crossed red.
The lance struck.
Not the centre of Gorgonbeak's body.
Not where his defences were strongest.
The point drove precisely into the narrow opening beneath the overlapping armour-like feathers protecting his chest.
The compressed wind erupted.
The ship shook.
A thunderous blast rolled across the deck as Gorgonbeak was lifted completely from his feet and carried backward by the force of the strike. Wind tore around him in a spiralling column, stripping apart his defences before the final surge exploded outward.
Gorgonbeak crashed through the far wall.
Silence followed.
A piece of wood dropped from the ceiling.
Then another.
Caelan remained where he had stopped, lance extended.
The wind faded from its point.
Gorgonbeak lay motionless among the wreckage.
His body began to dissolve.
Light rose from his feathers in streams, gathering above him before drifting outward.
The captain was finished.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Airi looked at the ruined wall.
Then at Caelan.
Then at the lance.
"You could do that the entire time?"
Caelan lowered the weapon.
"He was entertaining."
Airi stared at him.
Misaki covered her face with one hand.
Cactara, still sitting where Gorgonbeak had knocked her down, lifted one enormous boxing glove.
Caelan looked at her.
She gave him a thumbs-up.
He returned it.
Emberwing landed beside Misaki, feathers still glowing faintly with heat.
The danger had passed.
As the last remnants of Gorgonbeak's essence faded, colour slowly began returning to the petrified children and their partners. Grey stone softened into skin, clothes and fur. Haruto collapsed forward with a startled gasp, Renji immediately demanded to know what had happened, and Shun had barely regained control of his hands before reaching for his Resonance Linker.
Caelan saw him.
"No."
Shun looked up.
"I haven't even done anything."
"You're about to."
"I need to record—"
"No."
Shun frowned.
Caelan's armour dissolved into blue light.
The lance disappeared last.
A moment later he was once again standing there in his ordinary clothes as though a fully armoured knight had not just driven a giant bird through a wall.
Haruto looked around at the damage.
"What happened?"
Airi pointed at Caelan.
"He happened."
Caelan looked offended.
"The captain started it."
Renji stared at the hole in the wall.
"What did the captain do?"
"Poisoned everyone and tried turning you into stone," Misaki answered.
Renji looked toward the remains of the wall again.
Then toward Caelan.
"Fair."
Haruto pushed himself upright.
His gaze moved over Cactara, Emberwing, Misaki and Airi before finally settling on Caelan.
"You fought him?"
"We all did," Caelan answered.
Airi nodded firmly.
"Cactara punched him."
Cactara proudly raised both gloves.
Misaki rested one hand against Emberwing's feathers.
"And Emberwing kept him from focusing on any one of us."
Haruto's expression softened.
Then he looked at Caelan.
"Thanks."
Caelan shrugged.
"We were on the same ship."
It was a simple answer.
Perhaps because of that, Misaki found herself remembering the conversation from earlier—the suspicion, the whispered warnings, the questions about what sort of person Caelan really was.
He had known they were wary of him.
He had heard more than they realized.
And when the captain attacked, Caelan had still fought beside them without hesitation.
Misaki glanced toward the destroyed wall.
Perhaps they still knew very little about Caelan Ardyn.
But one thing, at least, had become considerably clearer.
Whatever else he might be, he had not behaved like their enemy.
The sandship continued through the evening desert, battered, scorched and now unfortunately short one captain.
Which, Shun pointed out several minutes later, created an entirely new problem.
Everyone slowly turned toward the controls.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Yuto raised his hand.
"Does anyone know how to drive this thing?"
Silence.
Caelan looked toward the enormous desert stretching ahead.
Then at the abandoned controls.
Then back at the others.
"Well."
He folded his arms.
"This should be interesting."