Chapter 5

Cold, chilling cold, is all he could feel as he awakens. His head hurt, his vision blurred, he struggled to remember what happened to him, and where he was at. Slowly, he raises to his feet, to get a feel of where he was. The object he sat on was hard, but smooth, almost like bone. His hand glides along it as he feels what it was, unsure of what to expect. He looks round the room, pitch black, nothing seen, not even his own hands, he wasn't sure if he would have expected anything less.

Slowly, he stands to his feet, feeling his way around the room, still chilled to his bone. There was another feeling, as well, a wet feeling, not just his feet, his whole body felt wet. A throbbing pain from his head, he clutches it with his left arm, trying to shake it off. With his hand on his head, he can feel bandages, many questions came to mind. His tail, still active, swayed left and right, trying to grasp at something, but he was already too far from the bed he slept on, and didn't know how much further away from any wall he was.

A flash of blinding light catches his eyes, forcing them shut swiftly, unable to see who, or what, stood on the other side. He feels two sets of hands grab him, one large, almost taking up his whole forearm, the other just grabbing at his wrist. He tries to pull back, to make them let go, resisting against them pulling him out of the dark room. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light, opening slowly to the sight he beholds. A city, underwater, mostly made of living coral.

His eyes shift around from side to side, people all around him, guarding his left and right flanks, to prevent him from leaving. He seems like a helpless child, but even strength can come in such a small package. The building he's pulled toward is large, mostly round and globe like. It's completely transparent, like a bubble under the ocean. He stopped resisting, knowing he holds no strength to keep fighting, but now, takes in the detail of those who surround him, and drag him to the bubble. They all appear to be like him, with the tails of various sea creatures. Their sizes vary to match the creature their tails are based around, the shortest being three feet even, with a fish’s tail.

His gaze ends on the two dragging him, a man, with scars covering his whole body. His hair is a short Mohawk, pulled back to look like the dorsal fin of a shark. The tail sticking out is large, swaying left and right, also like that of a shark, making the boy know what animal he's based off. He only wears a pair of what people would call, bicycle shorts, tight around his loins. The other person, a woman, has long hair that extends all the way down her back, pulled into a tight ponytail. Her tail is long, slender and shiny, like that of a dolphin. She only wears a sports bra and the same shorts as the man, making swimming through the water easy for her.

They finally enter the bubble, the large building having no water, except what they have on them when they enter. They toss Gaslyrok to the ground, making him land on his hands and feet, taking in breaths of air. He's not used to being underwater for so long, needing the time to take in some breaths, as his tail starts to disappear. The two behind him seem unphased by this transformation, they cross their arms, staring down at the boy, nodding their heads towards the object that catches his eyes.

His gaze ends on a flight of stairs, looking up at it for a while, watching where it leads. His eyes widen at the sight of a man larger than the one who brought him to the place. He's obese, not something one would normally see from a person around here, looking to barely be able to walk. His large, thick, tail sways from behind him, landing on the ground with an earth-shaking thud. Gaslyrok is scared, afraid of what the man might do to him, but he forces himself to get back to his feet.

The large man slams his tail into the ground, making him land on his backside, looking back up with fear in his eyes. It is, now, that he takes in all the details of the man. He wears a large crown on his head, clothes that look to be that of royalty, and a sceptre in his hand. The object is raised, aimed towards Gaslyrok, still a good distance away from the large, whale like, man.

“Bind him!” The man commands.

The two behind Gaslyrok swiftly move to grab the child, once more. They grab his arms, some seaweed, and bind his arms behind him, making sure the seaweed was durable enough for it before acting. He's forced to his knees, to look up at the man from this position. He feels a smack along the back of his head, forcing him to look at the ground.

“You are not to look at him, unless he commands it.” The woman spoke.

“State your name and race.” The man commands, keeping his beady eyes on him.

“M-My... my name... is... is Gaslyrok...” He says with a tone of fear in his voice. “And my race is what y-you... you saw.”

“Lies!” The whale like man shouted.

He slams his tail into the ground, once more, as well as his sceptre, forcing himself to stand. Each step, like thunder, as he walks down the stairs to the boy, keeping those beady eyes on him.

“They... they're not lies...” Gaslyrok spoke back, still fearful of what's to come.

As soon as the whale like man makes it down, he raises his sceptre into the sky, swiftly lowering it to strike the right side of Gaslyrok's face. The orb at the tip of the sceptre was the same size of his own face and made of solid gold. The force of the swing would have normally killed someone, but the man was holding back some force, to keep him alive. Tears run down his face as he lies on the ground, feeling blood start to leak from the side that was struck.

“Tell me the truth, I know all who swim in my waters, and the waters of the rest of the world, you are not one of us. You are a fake Aqualian.” He shouted down at him.

Aqualian, is that what they are? He's heard of them before, but never actually met the elusive race, they're just as elusive as the other three. He sniffles as he remains still, feeling the blood starting to seep into his white hair, changing it into a different colour, for now. He keeps his eyes off the man, since he has yet to be ordered to look at him. He tries to sit himself back up but feels the tip of the sceptre forced against his face, to keep him down.

“I said... tell me the truth!” The man commanded, once more.

“I... I am... A-Aqualian!!!” He shouted back.

The sceptre is forced against his head, once more, loosening a pair of teeth, making him spit them out. His thunderous steps are heard as he moves to the throne, once more.

“You are not, everyone knows what each member of the Aqualian royal family looks like. You might have their tail, but you are NOT one o-”

“Stop this right now!” Another voice beckons from the shadows.

He looks around, trying to see where the sound of the voice came from, to see if they were here to save him, or punish him further. His eyes, one of them slightly blinded by blood, lands on a figure. The room became silent as the cloaked figure walked in, as though he was more important than the whale like man. He watches each stride the boy makes, noble with each step. He grips at his cloak, unbuckling the clasp, tossing it to the side to reveal his figure.

His head is bald, as though no hair can grow on it with the shine coming off it. He appears to stand just a little under five feet, and his age close to that of a twelve year old boy. His body is toned, without being too muscular, his shorts looser than any of the other people that Gaslyrok has seen. Unlike all the others, his skin is tanned, everyone he'd seen so far being pale. His tail sways from side to side, showing it to be just like Gaslyrok's own tail, sea serpent and hooked at the tip. A pair of daggers can be seen on each of his hips, his choice in weapons. He stands before the whale like man, not bowing, not even showing respect to the other man.

“Release that boy right now, he does not deserve this treatment.” He commanded, ordering the larger man.

The whale like man shakes his head, raising his scepter to point at Gaslyrok, once more.

“He is a criminal, disguising himself as a member of the royal family.” He said. His scepter is moved towards the boy with the sea serpent tail. “YOUR family.”

The sea serpent boy shakes his head a little bit, turning himself around, approaching the small boy himself. He grips at the dagger on his left hip as he draws it from its sheath. Gaslyrok pushes himself back, thinking he's about to be cut by the boy that approached. His eyes shut tight as he feels the hand on his bound arms.

“Hold still, I'll cut you free.” He said. 

With a swift glide along the seaweed, his wrists are unbound. Gaslyrok looks up at the boy, bewildered by the kindness he'd just been shown by this new arrival. He sees the hand extended, to help him to his feet. Without haste, he accepts the help, standing beside the boy, staring at the ground.

“What did you say your name was, again?” The boy asked.

“G-Gaslyrok...” He responded. He's still feeling nervous but is glad to see a friendly face.

“Well, G-Gaslyrok, worry not, you're in safe hands now.” The mboy said. “This boy, Gaslyrok, holds more power in his hands over you than even I, Prince Leviathan the thirty-eighth, hold.”

Gaslyrok finally looks up at the boy, still bewildered by this whole situation. He looks to the whale like man.

“He does NOT hold power over me.” He said in the same commanding voice.

“That is where you are wrong, Akama, for you see, he...” Leviathan gestures to Gaslyrok, “Is none other than the crown prince to the Gatire family.” He finished.

Gaslyrok's eyes grow wide as he looks back up at Leviathan, unable to believe what he was hearing in that moment. He keeps his eyes on him, then turns to look at Akama, waiting to hear what was to be said next. Instead of hearing words, he hears Akama starting to laugh.

“Now is not the time for jokes, young king.” He said as he laughed.

“This is no joke; I can tell he is the next in line for the royal family.” Leviathan responded.

Akama frowns as he rises to his feet, moving swiftly to approach them, standing before Leviathan, as Gaslyrok hides behind him, still bleeding, but slowly stopping.

“That... BOY can not be the next in line for the Commonata royal family.” He said.

Leviathan shakes his head a little bit, patting the back of Gaslyrok's head a couple of times.

“Of course, he is, do you not recognize royalty when you see it?” He asked, smirking a little bit.

“Prove it.” Akama demanded.

Leviathan gives a nod of his head, turning around to face Gaslyrok. He lowers himself, taking a knee before the younger boy, a wide smile on his face. He places both hands on Gaslyrok's shoulders.

“All right, kid, I need you to do something that might be difficult for you to do, I need you to unleash your full form.” He said. “I believe in you, and it's the only proof you have.” He finished.

Gaslyrok just nods his head a little bit, making gestures with his hands.

“Can... can you all... b-back up... p-please?” He asked in his nervous tone. 

What he is about to do releases a lot of energy, needing space, so as not to harm anyone with it. Leviathan, as well as the shark man and dolphin woman back up. Akama stood his ground, not believing the boy to possess so much power.

Gaslyrok crosses his forearms in front of his chest, pulling them towards his body. A warm light starts to emit off his body, the winds picking up as he concentrates. The light around his tail bone changes to a light blue, to match the ocean, a cold chill coming from it. The light close to his right back changes into a red one, hotter than the other lights coming off his body. The light opposite to the red one changes green, creating more winds than any other light coming from him. The last light to change, on top of his head, turns brown, it generates no sort of feeling. The red and green lights start to surround his torso as the winds start to get faster around him.

After mere seconds, but felt like hours for the boy, he arches his back, arms down at his sides as his legs stand straight. Akama is sent flying into his throne, Leviathan and the other two only moved a little bit from the release of his energy. Once the dust clears, what stands before them is a Gaslyrok, in a weakened state, taking in deep breaths. He has a pair of fox-like ears protruding from the top of his head, the same tail as Leviathan swaying left and right. His right wings are made of feathers, but with a bit of flames coming off it, like that of the mythical Phoenix. His left wings are pitch black on the outside, made of scales, on the inside, it's green, like that of a great dragon. He's not used to his full release, only having used it this one time, but always aware of it. All of them stare at him, except for one, shocked to see him in this form.

Leviathan slowly claps as he approaches the boy, smiling widely as he looks to Akama. He pats Gaslyrok, gently, on the back as he looks back up at Akama with a bit of a chuckle.

“Do you believe me now?” He asked.

Akama slowly, stands back up, staring at Gaslyrok, the boy's proof of his heritage before him. He stumbles down the stairs, bowing to the boy right away, arms over his head as he does.

“My... my apologies... y-your majesty.” He said. He keeps his head lower than the child's own.

Gaslyrok shakes his head, approaching the man, patting his head a couple of times. Before he could say anything, he falls back, too weak to stay awake, as well as too starved and injured from the beatings Akama gave him. He couldn't hear much else, but he felt people moving to tend to his injuries, while he rested for the next several hours, to give him some peace of mind.

♂___________________________________________________________________________♀

The brig was no fun at all, as Jasfu was swift to finding out. She sat in a corner, on the floor, her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around her thighs. It had only been a day since she was caught and thrown down there. She barely interacted with anyone, barely seeing anyone at all. The only people she's seen, was the chef, to bring her food, and the guard to check on her. When he came inside, she recognized the guard right away, the lithe, toned, man that captured her and ruined her fun.

She always wondered what was hidden under his bandana, seeing it move around whenever he was watching over her. During her boredom, she started making etches into the wall, to count down how long she'd been in the brig for. She made twenty-four etches into the wall, one four each hour she was awake for. Not having anything to do, she mostly slept through, what she assumed to be, the nights. When she slept, the guard left, leaving her alone, always seeming to know when she was awakening.

This time, when she awoke, it wasn't the lithe man with the toned body, it was the captain, Mao. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, swiftly rising to her feet. In her eyes, the man was more imposing than any of the others. She started from his feet, going up, seeing him in his black sabaton, greave, poleyn and cuisse, completely covering his legs. Her eyes keep going up, seeing his tattered tunic covering his torso, as well as the tattered coat draped over his tunic. She finally lands on his snarling face, clearly not impressed with her stowing away on his ship. His hair, medium length, covers a little bit of his eyes, enough to make him seem more intimidating.

He steps close to the bars, making Jasfu step back from them. He shook his head, grabbing at the door, opening it, without using a key. The entire time she was down here, she thought it was locked. She was still trying to figure out how long she was down there for. The closer he stepped to her, the further back she tries to get from him, bumping into the bed built into the brig walls. She looks up at the man, fear in her eyes, waiting to feel him slap her across the face. It wasn't the man that scared her the most, though, it was the fear of not having her twin with her.

Mao's hand is slammed into the wall behind her, making her flinch a little bit, small droplets of tears forming. She can feel the glare coming off the man as he slams his other hand into the wall. She finally looks up, seeing his flame like eyes still staring down at her with the snarl on his face.

“So... you're the one that has stowed away on my ship with the boy.” He growled out.

Her fear was still strong in her, but she nods her head, slowly, wiping away at her tears. With the swiftness of a cheetah, she feels the man grabbing her by her hair, dragging her out of the brig. She grips at his hand with her own small ones, trying to stop him from pulling her out.

“Stop it... let g-go...” She screamed.

He shakes his head, still dragging her, carrying her up the stairs of the ship. The trip felt like it was taking an hour, but it was really only a few minutes, when they finally make it above deck. A bright light hits her right away, the sky clear, not even a cloud in sight. Once they're above deck, he tosses her to the deck, letting her roll along the ground a little bit.

She tries to, slowly, rise to her feet, only getting her left elbow, and right hand, on to the deck before she feels something strike her. She rolls on the ground, again, seeing Mao approaching her at a slow pace.

“Come on... get up.” He said in a commanding tone.

She didn't want to disappoint him, slowly rising to her feet, once more. She hears the metal boots hitting the ground at a faster pace, as though he was running towards her. She stays in place, waiting to hear him get close enough, to leap out of the way. Her timing was off, leaping back a second too late, feeling him connect with his boots, again. She's sent flying, against the main mast of the ship, almost breaking her back. She screamed out in pain.

As she hits the ground, she finally looks around, seeing all the pirates gathered together, cheering Mao on to keep going. There was one person that caught her eyes, though, the woman, with dragon like wings. She stood there, watching, unable to help Jasfu in this situation. As she stared at the woman, she hears the boots connecting with the deck at a fast pace, once more. Before she could react, she feels him connecting with her face, making her spit out a couple of teeth.

“What did I just tell you, girl?” He asked.

She feels her hair pulled, again, forcing her neck back a little bit, blood coming from her mouth due to the loss of her teeth. He forces her head to turn, to look her in the eyes, seeing her glare right back at him. He smirked, enjoying that expression on the little girl's face. He slams her face into the deck, rubbing it there, making her wince in pain, closing her eyes completely. She was starting to lose hope, to give up on winning this fight, on seeing her brother, again.

Then, something awoke inside her, something she felt in that moment. It was power, a power she'd not felt in a long time, since she, and Gaslyrok promised to never use it. He used his full power, which meant he was in a dire situation to use it in that moment. She rolls her eyes to Mao, opening them wide as he keeps rubbing her face along the deck laughing with the rest of them, seeing her defeated for a moment.

“You want... m-me to... get to my... f-feet?” She asked.

Her hands are placed, firmly, on the ground, starting to push against Mao's own strength. She could feel him putting more strength against her head, to force her back down, again. She could see the stunned expressions on all their faces, seeing a little girl forcing their captain back. He keeps trying to force her back down, finally feeling the strength the little girl has inside her.

He swiftly moves his free hand, the left hand, to punch at her stomach, getting a hard hit on her stomach. She falls back to the ground, groaning in pain from the swift strike, her hands holding her stomach.

“You can't win... just give up.” Mao whispered.

“N-Never...” She groaned back.

Her hands are planted firmly against the ground, once more, pushing herself back up. The pirates surrounding them all cheer their captain on, showing their favouritism towards the man. She rises her right elbow, swiftly, to strike him in the centre of his chest. She gives him a couple more, feeling his grip loosen on her hair as she's finally free from his grip. She springs back, giving him a kick in the face, knocking him back a couple of steps.

She stands ready, to keep fighting against the man, hands into tiny fists of fury. She doesn't take any particular stance, not having learned anything officially, only how to punch people. She watches Mao get back to his feet, keeping her big blue eyes on him for a while. Once he stands, being a fair fighter, she charges in at him, to give his face a good punch. He blocked it with an open hand, going in for a retaliation right away. His fist connects with something, but not part of her body, when she was brought up. A smirk is drawn on her face, seeing the stunned look on his face at the sight of a single dragon wing.

Unlike her brother, it comes from the right side of her body, making her to be the opposite to him. She gives it a single beat, sending him back a couple of feet, keeping his balance. He shakes his hand a couple of times, the rough scales from her wing causing a bit of harm to his body.

“So... you have a single dragon wing, guess that means you're pretty strong, but you can only make one appear.” Mao said.

“You'd be surprised what else I have.” Jasfu responded.

She keeps watching him, circling around her, looking to be more of a fierce warrior than a little girl. She can see the smirk on his face, pointing to one of the pirates. The same lithe, toned, man walks over, Mao whispering into his right ear. Once they were finished, the lithe pirate backs off, walking to the captain’s quarters for a while.

“You ready to keep going? I want to see what other surprises you have inside you.” Mao said.

All Jasfu gives is a nod of her head, waiting for the man to charge in at her. The wing slowly disappears from her back, by her will. She's getting ready for the next attack, using something else to fight with. He wasted no time to charge in when the wing disappeared, Jasfu leading back from the man a few times, hitting against a banister to the ship. Before he can connect with her, his fist hits what she was leaning against, rolling out of the way. He wasn't finished, though, his other fist comes at her.

She raises the defensive wing, once more, letting his hand connect with it again. He pulls the fist back, swiftly, this time raising a foot towards her. Her sea serpent tail appears as swiftly as the wing disappears, wrapping around his leg, to hold it still. She pulls down, forcing the leg back to the ground, this left her open to his retaliation. He quickly moves his hand, throwing dirt into her eyes, making her scream out and back off, hands over her eyes.

“My eyes!!! You cheater!!!” She screamed at him.

“Sorry, this is a REAL fight, not some spar, lassie.” He said.

She takes a few steps back, wildly swinging her left arm, while her right tries to get the dirt out. She feels a sudden knee to her gut, sending her back a couple of feet, one arm on her stomach, the other on her eyes. If she had her sight, she would be able to see what was to come next. A foot connects with her back, sending her forward a couple of steps, landing on her hands and knees.

“Just give up... it'll be easier on you if you do!!!” A woman's voice screams into the, temporarily, blind girl's ears.

Jasfu shakes her head a little bit, slowly rising to her feet, not willing to give up. She can hear all the pirates laughing at her, for not giving up for a single second. Her eyes remain shut, the tail gone, something now growing from the top of her head. Just like her brother, she has fox ears, which also means she has the hearing of a fox. They twitch left and right, homing in on the sound of one particular person. She hears him charging at her, swiftly sliding to the left to avoid him, but something was a little off. He still could have hit her, but he didn't, he stood right behind her, starting to laugh. She turns to face the direction of the laughter, angered at him as she does.

“What's so funny?” She asked in her angered tone.

“You... you're funny. No one has actually stood up to me in front of my crew like you have, before. You're resilient, strong, and to make things even better...” He paused for a moment, to whisper the next part for her ears only. “I know who you are.”

She tilted her head a little bit, still looking in his direction. The sand in her eyes start to clear up, so she can see a little bit clearer. All she sees, for now, is a blurred figure standing a few inches from her, whispering into her right ear.

“Princess.” He whispered.

Here eyes grew wide at his words, calling her a princess. What sort of trickery is this? Is he trying to make her believe she's royalty? She watches the blur step back, snapping his fingers, calling on a pair of his crew. They walked over, grabbing Jasfu, binding her arms to her back. At least they're gonna keep her alive, all she has to figure out is what they plan to do with her.

“Put her in the special cabin, not the one with Wyvenia in it, but the one next to MY cabin. I'm gonna keep her, and train her, she's a very important person, after all.” Mao said.

Once the order was given, she feels herself dragged up to the captain's cabin, or at least next to it. There was a hidden door to it, a door no one knows about, except for the crew. The crewmen throw her into the room, glaring at the girl, keeping her shackled, for now. After what they saw back there, they think it's safer to keep her bound, so she doesn't fight back so much.

The door slammed shut, she could only see darkness, walking around the room a little bit. She sits on the floor, letting tears fall to the ground. The pain from the fight finally hit her, now that the adrenaline died down. She cries herself to sleep, in the middle of the, seemingly, dark room, waiting for what the next day has to offer.