Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Sea of Mysteries ( Chapter 72 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

XxXxXx

Sacrifice

Chapter 72: Sea of Mysteries

Author: Melissa Norvell

XxXxXx

The group stood at the bottom of the black castle steps and looked up at the vampires one final time before they departed. Mikunai and Helix were also present, standing beside of them as allies, ready to take their leave and head back to Baklava to educate their people and hopefully make them allies to Sumeria.

"Too bad we can't keep you company, huh?" Mikunai straightened his glasses and looked to the group. Even though they were well-rested, they still seemed bogged down with emotion and physical stress.

"Really, thank you for everything," Undine was grateful for their hospitality in such rough times.

"It was my pleasure. Feel free to come back any time you wish," Vasca smiled down on the weary travelers and wished them good luck on their way. Fife placed the crown of black crystal back on top of his father's head and smiled at him.

"Be careful, my king," Lord Treble told him.

The navy-haired boy then turned to his brother. "Lord Bass."

"Yes, my liege?" Bass asked with an informative bow.

"Keep taking good care of my father," Fife instructed kindly and hugged his father for the final time, receiving a light, warm embrace back from the long-haired vampire. "I'll miss you, King Vasca."

"Please be careful, son," Vasca wished his son all the best, and hoped that he would come back to Sumeria alive and well when his adventuring was over.

"I will. Thanks for everything," Fife bowed to the man who had created him. He was glad to finally meet his father and to find out that he was not hated or looked down on by the people of his country. After all of the hell he had been through, everything turned out well. There were only a few more things that he could not reveal to the others, for if he did, both he and Undine would be figured out and he had swore not to let that happen.

"Thank you son, you really helped me out in a time of the war and you got back your mother's remains. That's all I really want is to be by her side."

"We hope that you can do that," Tsurugi told him gently.

"Good-bye Hiroshima. I hope that we can meet again," Vasca smiled at the angel. He was happy to see that Hiroshima was well. Even though the former assassin was going through rough times, he would continue to hope that things could only get better from that point on.

"Who can say? Perhaps we will. I hope that day comes, my dear, old friend," the green-haired angel smiled crookedly at the vampire king. It was an endearing term, rather than a show of arrogance or pride. A sign that Hiroshima held genuine respect for Vasca and truly considered him a friend.

"So sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you can find a way to get back to your original form."

"I wish you luck as well," Hiroshima knew that he would need it, now more than ever. One day, he hoped to see the people of Sumeria be accepted as whom they were, without fear or hype, but he knew that that goal was a long way away.

"Same to you," Vasca smiled as everyone soon said their good-byes and began to depart. Helix and Mikunai headed off in the opposite direction, and Vasca and his royal court headed back into the black castle to live their everyday lives.

The group of travelers walked away from Sumeria, each with a heavy burden on their shoulders and many thoughts flooding their minds of all of the events that had befallen them so far. They wondered what they would find in the next land and what magical item they would be searching for. Each individual person also thought on their own secrets and wondered how long they could manage to keep them hidden from the others in their group- their deepest fears and worst hates all had a possibility of coming to light at any moment and all of them were afraid of the fall, just as Azmy had been.

'It feels so strange, not even talking to anyone.' Ko thought to herself as she took one final look at the tragic land of Sumeria. 'Leaving Azmy behind…I just still can't believe that I'll never see her again…I'll never see her again…'

Her thoughts were cut short as a single red beam of light shot over her shoulder, causing her to direct her sights to her front, where Vespa's image was projected.

"Well, well, it's Vespa," Fife smiled, happy to see her familiar face once more.

"You all seem down," the sorceress commented on the group's status.

"We just came out of a war and Azmy passed away," Keiji told her and glanced down at the ground.

"That is truly tragic. I apologize for your loss," Vespa looked a little down at the revelation. She had known since she had been monitoring their journey. She knew that there would be sacrifices made and that no one had a stamp on the bottom of their foot as a guarantee that they would not lose their life. All she could do was commence with her orders and trudge on.

"It's just something that happened. No one can blame themselves," Hiroshima pointed out. While death was hard to deal with, even for him on a scale, he couldn't shake the blame. In all reality, it was no one's fault and he knew it all too well, but it was harder to do then to say.

"Everything must pass, just as the seasons end," Vespa tried to comfort their troubled souls, "she could have died anyway, regardless of her journeys with you all. Some things are fated to be."

"How can you judge that?" Ko asked. It seemed that the Red Witch could see far beyond what she could with her own human eyes.

"I have contacts with the powers to be. You can ask your angel friends if you want to confirm it," the red-haired woman responded, backing up her observations and ability with the angel's apparent knowledge of the situation.

"Is that true, Tsurugi, Hiroshima?" Ko looked to the two angels.

Tsurugi closed his eyes. "Yes, her expiration date was that exact date and time."

"I tried to keep that from happening but I couldn't get there in time," Hiroshima closed his eyes and tilted his head downward in regret.

"There are things that have the potential to be stopped and things that cannot be stopped. You tried your best and an effort is worth more than nothing, my dears," the sorceress then looked to Hiroshima. "How are you going to handle your problem, Hiroshima?"

"You mean being a vampire?" The angel asked.

"Yes, I saw that you had a hard time dealing with it at first," Vespa told him.

"I did but I'm fine now."

"You don't look fine," the Red Witch commented on how badly he actually did look. His normally ivory skin was nearly a paper white and he appeared very sickly, not to mention the fact that he looked as if he'd been fatigued.

"When I say I'm fine, I'm fine," Hiroshima responded, not really wanting to touch the subject of his own health.

"If you say so, tough guy," Vespa teased before she turned serious, satisfied with the irritated look on the man's face as proof of her ability to get to him. "I didn't come to chat, I came to give you your next orders. How would you like to go swimming?"

"Go swimming?" Ko looked a little confused. That was a very random question to ask with such a serious expression.

"Yes, your next mission will be in the sea, in a much warmer climate then this," Vespa instructed.

"What do we need from the sea?" Zangetsu was confused by the whole scenario.

"There is a large oyster shell that dwells on the bottom of the sea. It's composed of magical entitles that aids the amplification of one's magic. Soel seems to be after it and we can't let her get a hold of another item from Zameln," the Red Witch advised the group. The recovery of this item was very important to their mission.

"Are we going on a mission just to collect the loose items from Zameln?" Keiji was curious as to what their true objective was.

"So far, that's the only mission I have for you all. Please be careful because there is not a doubt in my mind that Soel has sent someone there to try and take it."

"If we go directly there, how will we get diving gear?" Zangetsu asked. Obviously this giant shell was deep beneath the sea. That would require them to breathe from oxygen tanks and use various scuba gear to acquire such an item.

Hiroshima held out a handful of feathers. "This should be enough of a sacrifice to get it and go directly to the sea, wouldn't it?"

Keiji looked to the angel and noticed his selfless act. In a way, Hiroshima had sacrificed many things for the sake of the team. It felt wrong that he was the only one to make a sacrifice. "Hiroshima…"

"None of you have anything to sacrifice. I can always grow new feathers," the angel informed. It was only a small price to pay. It wasn't as if he were giving his left arm or anything.

Keiji thought for a moment as he looked torn on what to do. Then, he took his sword and held it out, offering it up as a sacrifice. "Here, take this too."

"Sorry, I can only take magical sacrifices, besides; Hiroshima is simply paying off a debt to me. You don't need to sacrifice anything." Vespa told the green-haired boy. Her words, however true they were, made him feel useless.

"Why?" The boy's hand trembled as a surge of frustration and hopelessness filled his being. "Why are my sacrifices worthless?"

"Kid, let me do this," Hiroshima looked to the boy and felt an inward warmth of some kind that seemed to strike a chord in him somehow. The angel couldn't help but feel as if someone was growing close to him, and in a way, while it made him feel happy and comfortable, it also worried him.

To be closer or to put someone at a distance was a struggle. He had lost many in the past who had grown close to him and with his recent loss, it only seemed true that everyone who had grown close to him would surely pass on or betray him, just as Saesugawa had.

"Just stop, okay?" The irritated and belittled boy snapped. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but don't be nice only on your terms."

"First I'm an ass and now I'm too nice?" Hiroshima was a little offended that he was misread, even though it seemed to be a common occurrence.

"Don't be selfish."

"You shouldn't talk about that, since you were in this for yourself," the angel narrowed his eyes and glared at the boy. Keiji was fully aware of what he was talking about.

"Well, I'm not anymore. I realize that there are other things that matter to me," Keiji defended himself against the angel's words. Then, as he was preparing himself for another onslaught of criticism and harsh words from Hiroshima, something that he wasn't expecting happened.

He was hugged tightly by the angel. "So have I…" Keiji could smell blood, dirt and that familiar spice that made Hiroshima's unique scent as his body was pulled into the angel's. Green eyes looked up to closed ones to see the angel with a small smile on his face with his eyes closed. His words were not brash or cold, Hiroshima had actually opened up a little to him. At moments like this, Keiji could tell that the angel didn't want to be as cruel or mean as he played it off as. In many ways, they were alike.

"Hiroshima…" Keiji's face softened for a moment before it turned serious again. "Fine, but I still think you're an ass."

"I don't expect your opinion to change quickly but I can tell you this is far from what you think it is. I can't change the past and I know that I'm just a murderer in your eyes but I'd like you to at least like me. You don't have to forgive me, just try to see where I'm coming from," Hiroshima told the boy.

"I can do that; just don't act so heartless if you want me to care about you. Also, don't hide things. If you need something or you want something, then say it. Don't hide things from us, especially when you say that we shouldn't hide things either," Keiji looked into the angel's face a little warmly, melting some of the ice around his heart.

They had finally come to an understanding and Hiroshima was finally seeing him as an equal.

"Fine," the angel averted his eyes, "just don't be surprised at what you find out."

"I'm not asking you to tell us everything. I don't want you to say anything that gets you hurt or in trouble," the boy reached up and removed his dark-framed glasses. Hiroshima seemed a little startled by the friendly touch. His slightly widened blue eyes were met with those of forest green. "Look at me with unshaded eyes and tell me that you won't be afraid to say it because you're scared of what we think."

"Huh?" The blue-eyed angel responded as that familiar warmth crept into his icy heart. Before he could say another word, the feathers that he had been holding in his hand disappeared and streams of white smoke began to swirl around the group as a golden magic circle appeared beneath their feet, bathing them in light.

"Looks like we're off!" Fife called out as the winds began to blow, causing his long hair to dance in the wind.

"It took her long enough to accept that sacrifice," Undine commented on Vespa's apparent delay.

"Vespa just wanted to eavesdrop. That's how she knows everything that goes on in Zameln," Hiroshima sighed, noting her nosey behavior. It was nothing less to expect from that witch. Those were his final words before the group was consumed in the swirling smoke and transported to the sea for their next assignment.

XxXx

"Soel said it was in this area somewhere," Eclipse thought aloud to herself as she put her hand under her chin in contemplation as she looked around. In all directions was the wide-spread, open sea that shimmered in the light and the skies, as clear and blue as ever above. She stood on a small island, that could only sustain five or six people before someone would have to bail off. All around her were a series of islands, ranging from the size of a small bedroom to the size of a dinner plate, all topped with grass.

The black and white haired woman sighed to herself as she removed her cape. Beneath it was a black bikini and a suitcase that she had carried with her, complete with scuba gear inside, for diving under the intense pressure of the sea. "Time to get to work," the woman placed the oxygen tank on her back. Then, without a word more, she dove under the water, unaware that she was being watched a few islands behind her by the natives who lived around those parts.

A girl with mid-back length black hair and periwinkle eyes, dressed in a black lolita-style dress with dark purple hose and Mary Janes watched with a group of naga as they saw the woman dive under the water. She blinked in curiosity at the strange woman, who had seemingly shown up out of nowhere and wondered who she could be.

"Who's that?" A female naga with a black eye patch and long, white hair asked as she placed her dark blue hands on the edge of the island.

"I don't know. I've never seen her before, have you Thanatos?" The human asked a large, male naga next to her with shoulder-length black, slightly wavy hair, piercing green eyes and a goatee. He was dressed more elaborately then the others and sported a golden belt, neck plate and upper arm cuffs that were encrusted with jewels.

"Looks suspicious to me," Thanatos continued to stare at the water and ponder over the woman with the eye patch's true motives for being in such a remote place.

"Do you think we should follow her?" The black-haired girl questioned the matter. If something evil was afoot, then they needed to follow the strange-looking woman and get some kind of peace of mind in confirmation.

Just as she asked the question, the strange group was blasted with a mix of smog and wind. The dark-haired girl covered herself with her arms as her lolita dress fluttered wildly with the shifting winds. The black-haired naga and his comrade also covered themselves from the blast of magical energy as each one wondered what was going on now.

"What the hell is that?" Thanatos asked as his forest green eyes peered through the fog and wind to see a new group of strange-looking people. They were all dressed in vintage Victorian clothes and three of them had wings or wing-like appendages. "Okay, who the hell are these people?" The naga jerked a thumb in the group's direction. This day was just getting stranger and stranger to him, and now he had some weirdoes a couple of islands across from him that decided to randomly drop in at the last minute.

"Where the hell are we this time?" Hiroshima was the first to speak up as he glanced around at the vast amount of water surrounding him. He had known all too well that he couldn't swim so he decided to stay in the middle of the island.

"Is this even in Japan?" Fife wondered aloud as he placed a finger to his chin and looked up at the bright blue sky.

"Vespa said that it was. I wouldn't think that she'd lie to us," Zangetsu pointed out. It would be pointless to simply hand out false information, especially since they were performing this mission specifically for the witch.

"Water…Joyous…" The spiky-haired angel dead-panned as he looked down. For some reason, and he couldn't place why, he felt caged in.

"Oh yeah, angels can't swim," Chichiri pointed out, a little too loudly for Hiroshima's taste.

"Well, we can't.," Hiroshima replied uncomfortably, "only those with jurisdiction over water can swim." Out of all of the angels that there was, Hiroshima, at this moment in time, really wished he could have some kind of jurisdiction over water. At least it would make him feel at ease with himself.

"So, I assume that we're going to go diving," Keiji pointed out as he glanced at the suitcase, probably filled with diving gear.

"Yeah, we're looking for some fish scale or something," the blonde told him. At least, that's what he remembered Vespa telling him.

"The item I was supposed to give Vespa is gone," Zangetsu noticed that the item was no longer in possession and he had assumed that Vespa took it with her when she left them. However, he was glad that it was back with its proper owner now.

"She probably took it when she took my feathers," the spiky-haired angel informed.

"More then likely, but I'll ask her when I see her again," the ninja wanted to be sure that it went with her and that he didn't just lose it again. He had hoped that she simply took it, or they may have to venture back to Sumeria and acquire it again.

"Well, let's get started. Where are the changing rooms?" Ko glanced around to see nothing but islands and water surrounding her.

"All I see are numerous islands and an odd, snake-like creature," Hiroshima pointed out the fact that they weren't the only ones in the area.

"What?!" The blonde wondered if he heard that right. What did the angel just say about something that looked like a snake? Were they going to have to fight again?

Hiroshima pointed as the naga female with dark blue skin and white hair surfaced. The timing of the moment scared Chichiri out of his mind. The blonde screamed and stumbled backwards, falling onto his butt, this caused the naga to let out a high pitched scream upon seeing that the new visitors were making noises at her. It was a chain reaction of screams.

"You scared me," the dark-skinned naga sighed as she placed a hand to her chest.

"Yeah, you did too. Who are you?" Chichiri saw that the naga wasn't going to attack him.

"And what are you for that fact?" Thanatos gave the angels a suspicious look as he slithered onto the island. Just then, another naga surface with light blue skin and long, white hair.

"I heard you scream. Are you okay?" He asked in a youthful male voice as he turned to the dark-skinned naga.

"Yes, thanks. I was just frightened by these strange people," she told him in relief.

"We're strange?" Chichiri thought that they were the ones who were strange. After all, you could see many humans all day long but snake-like things were unheard of walking on the surface world…Then again, judging by all of the strange places he had been already, he wasn't so sure what to define as normal anymore.

Throughout his journeys, he had seen angels, dragons, elves, vampires, talking birds, a girl with dog ears and plants that came to life. Nothing was impossible any more.

"You'll have to forgive them. They don't really like humans," a handsome naga slithered up to them. He had light tan skin, long, straight white hair and piercing blue eyes that resembled Hiroshima's in color and shape.

"We could use an explanation, please. Could you tell us what this place is and who all of you are?" Zangetsu wanted to get to the bottom of the constant questions and hopefully get a bearing on the mission at hand.

"We'd like to know who you are and what you want here," the tan-skinned naga also wanted answers, and rightfully so since they were in their country, or rather on their set of islands.

The human girl of the group stepped forward; she had been carried onto the island by Thanatos, "I can tell you."

"Since we're intruding, we'll tell you first," Ko looked to the girl and her strange company of naga friends. She began to explain what their mission was about, as well as who they were and their intentions of being there.

XxXx

Eclipse swam through a large, intricate group of coral reefs and looked tirelessly for any sign of the shell. Her one blue eye scanned over countless inches and feet of the sea's bottom, as well as examining the many coral reefs and caves and still, she found nothing. 'I don't see it anywhere. Mistress Soel said that it was down here but where? There are a lot of places to cover.' It would have been much easier if the sorceress had given her a sector or area of some sort, instead of leaving her answer so ambiguous.

As she swam through the blue waters of the ocean, a female, warrior-type naga with shoulder-length, wine-colored hair and eyes was swimming through and happened to spot her. The naga's eyes widened upon seeing a human swimming around suspiciously in an isolated part of the sea.

At the same time, Eclipse had spotted the naga in turn. 'What is that? Maybe it can lead me to that shell.' After all, this might be her chance to at least be a little closer to finding it. The short-haired woman just hoped that it didn't decide to attack her.

XxXx

"So, you're looking for the shell of Marchois?" The tan-skinned naga said upon hearing their tale of adventure.

"What is Marchois?" Zangetsu wondered if that was what the shell's technical name was.

"Isn't that a large fish at the bottom of the ocean?" The dark-skinned female naga had heard something about it before, but she was wondering if it was the very same story.

"Yes but no one's seen one in a while," the pale blue naga pointed out. If they were searching for this shell, it would be no easy task.

"That's because humans hunted them for their scales, which were said to amplify magic by many times but it was really the rare type of shell that they lived in," the tan skinned naga pointed out.

"That's what we're looking for. Have you seen it?" Keiji asked. Since they swam I the ocean, then maybe they had some type of clue at the very least about its whereabouts.

"I've never seen the fish, much less the shell," Thanatos informed in the negative.

"I'm sorry," the human girl looked a little surprised at their rude behavior to their new guests. "I didn't tell you who we were. I'm Manami and this is Thanatos, King of this Naga Clan."

"I'm his uncle, Adonis," the tan-skinned one introduced.

"I've already introduced myself but I'm Awiti, in case you didn't hear me earlier," the dark blue naga re-introduced herself.

"I'm Prince Thelios, Thanatos' younger brother," the light blue naga explained. "We love around here so maybe we can help you look for your shell." Thelios offered his assistance on the matter. It would be kind of wrong to just leave them out in the middle of nowhere like that, especially if they were just zapped there and knew nothing of the ocean.

"What makes you think I want to volunteer my time?" Thanatos had a very different idea. "I've got nothing to do with this."

"Well, I'll help you," Manami smiled kindly at the group of newcomers as her lover crossed his arms and frowned.

"You're always going against me," Thanatos sighed.

"They need our help," the girl had remembered a time in which she needed help and Thanatos had pulled through for her when he rescued her from her abusive father. There was no way that she could abandon anyone who needed her help in turn.

"That makes you want to trust them, why?" The black-haired naga replied. They were complete strangers. Why knew what their underlying intentions were, if they even had any. Not to mention they looked like some hodge-podge group that crawled out of a hole somewhere. Every single one of them looked suspicious, even the seemingly calm and happy Fife.

To him, they were a bunch of shady characters with a screwed up cause.

"I don't think they'll do anything bad," Manami just had a feeling about this. Even though they looked shady, she could tell that their hearts were in the right place. They might not have been the purest people that she'd ran across, but to her they looked more as if they had been through a lot of pain and hardship. In a way, she felt sorry for them and their situation.

"We're just trying to get it to a sorceress to protect it from someone who wants to use it for evil purposes," Ko tried to shed some light on their true intentions. She didn't want the people of the sea to be suspicious of them or view them as bad.

Manami looked at the suitcase that sat on the ground. "This must be your swim wear here," the girl walked over and picked it up by the handle. "Follow me and I'll show you a place to get dressed."

"I'll stay here," Hiroshima told the group. It would be pointless for him to go, considering he would be no use to them underwater. Tsurugi agreed. He remembered what happened to him at Serenande's place and he didn't want to re-live that nightmare.

"I don't think I can swim with one wing, so I'm out of this one," Zangetsu agreed with the angels. He never tried to swim since he had been cursed but he didn't want to be a burden to the group in case he couldn't make it. Being in the sea could have dangerous results if he sank.

"How about Keiji, Chichiri and I go?" Ko suggested. Three people seemed like a good number without being too confused.

"Sounds fair, if you run into trouble you can always come back here," Fife told them.

"I'll help you too, since I can swim very well. You may need my help in moving the water to get that shell," Undine told them.

"Alright! Then let's get changed!" Chichiri exclaimed, happy and full of energy about his new mission. Finally, a way to test his strength that didn't involve him dying. What could possibly happen underwater? This was going to be too easy.

"We'll look around this area. We can meet up here when we're done," Thelios told them their plan of action. "Nagas can swim very well and we're used to being underwater so we can last a while."

"Then let's begin our search," Adonis told the naga of the group. It would be best to start now, instead of waiting for the humans to get changed. They could cover more ground that way.

"I'll stay here, that way you can contact me if you need my help," Fife wasn't too keen on swimming, and he had been worn out from the events at Sumeria. Even though he had rested, Vasca's magic and his transformation had still pained him. Besides, it would be interesting to see if the humans of his group would be able to pull this mission off.

"I'll go with the humans so I can show them the ropes," Thanatos told everyone as they headed off to get changed into their swim wear.

When they came back to the island, they were all clad in swimwear that Vespa had provided for them. Ko sported a lime green bikini that tied on both sides of the bottom and on the straps at the top. Keiji wore black swimming trunks and Chichiri wore red ones with a white line down both sides. Out of the three, Chichiri had the most muscle mass and looked to be the one who could last longer swimming. Keiji was thin but had long, lean muscles. Before he had started adventuring, he was just a scrawny drummer, whose muscles lay mostly in his arms and legs but now he had slowly developed over the course of time due to their constant battles. Ko was as trim as she had ever been, but the woman's body was preconditioned before she joined the group and she did many different physical activities.

"Thanatos, you're still here," Manami came back to the island that the remaining group members were stationed on. She was a little surprised that the Naga king was still there. She didn't figure that he'd wait for them at all.

"I'm going with these three but only for your sake," he really didn't want to do it, but he couldn't say no to Manami's wishes.

"Thank you so much!" The girl smiled brightly at him, happy that he wanted to help the travelers.

"You humans ready to go?" Thanatos asked the group, who all either said yes or nodded. The red-tailed naga then instructed them to follow him as he dove into the water.

"Wish me luck!" Chichiri shouted back and waved at the land-bound members of his team.

"Good luck!" Fife smiled.

"They may need it," Manami said to herself as the three dove into the water, following Thanatos off into the depths of the sea. She seemed very concerned for their safety, for she knew the perils of the sea.

The vampire king looked a little confused, as if he didn't know what to make of her expression on the matter. Was there something that he needed to know about his team mates and the trouble that they might be headed into. "What do you mean?" He asked and hoped that the answer would not be something truly worrisome.

They had come all this way, and he would hate it if his fellow team mates ended up buried at the bottom of the sea.

…To Be Continued…

NOTE: If you've read my other works and find these characters familiar, then you're right. They are all from To Wish Upon the Sea, so if you're reading this, you may get spoilers. Sacrifice has momentarily crossed over with it, so some things won't be gotten but if you ask, I'll explain it the best I can.