Eleo slammed the door open and flopped onto the floor face-first. "Owwwwwww…" he groaned, arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish.
He blinked, looked around, and sat up. "Wait… where'd everybody go?" The room was empty.
He crawled over to the window and peeked outside—rain hammered the glass, and thunder boomed in the distance. "It's storming?"
He jumped up and rushed out, checking Amai's room. Empty. Then Chiyo and Timmy's. Gone. "No way... don't tell me they're all dead…" he whispered, eyes wide.
He sprinted up to the deck, immediately getting smacked by the wind and drenched by the rain. His ears flopped from the force. But then—he saw them. Everyone, standing at the front of the ship.
"Guys! You're alive!"
Tony turned, annoyed. "Of course we are."
Chiyo glanced back. "Yeah, Amai woke us up. Said we're almost at World 2."
Timmy popped up from Chiyo's head, raising his arms. "And there's gonna be legendary monsters!"
Kenji folded his arms. "We'll kill them."
Olorun cracked his knuckles. "Pfft. Yeah I ain't scared of no monster."
Amai stood at the railing, hair soaked and clinging to her face. "Let's just pray I or Kawai don't die… or this whole ship goes poof."
Kawai let out a worried, "Meep meep."
Eleo stepped forward, blinking. "Wait… are you sure If Kawai dies, the ship explodes?"
Amai nodded. "I'm positive. I go poof too."
Kenji narrowed his eyes. "Then shouldn't you be in your room."
Amai shrugged, not looking back. "I don't wanna miss this."
Suddenly, the ship jolted violently—everyone stumbled. It was like the sea had grabbed the whole thing and yanked it down.
Chiyo shouted, "What the hell was that?!"
Tony ran for the helm. "The engine stopped! Looks like we're sailing the old-fashioned way!"
Timmy squeaked. "No! That means we're easier to spot! The monsters'll get us!"
Olorun's eyes widened. "Shit. He's right."
"MEEP! MEEP! MEEP!" Kawai yelled, spinning in circles.
A flash of lightning split the sky—and struck the deck.
Tony swore. "Shit shit shit—okay, this is bad!"
Flames burst from the strike point, licking across the wooden floor.
Kenji drew a sword. "This is bad."
Chiyo glared at the fire. "We just fixed this damn ship!"
Eleo pointed. "Let's just spit on it!"
Olorun grinned. "Yo, he's right!" The two started spitting wildly onto the flames.
Chiyo smacked them both. "Quit messing around!"
Timmy peeked out from Chiyo's hair. "Wait—look. The rain's putting it out."
Amai's eyes narrowed. She moved toward the edge of the deck. "Hold on…"
Kenji turned, his hand already gripping his second sword. "You see it too."
Amai nodded. "Yeah… the monsters."
Kenji's voice dropped low. "Eleo. Olorun. Chiyo. Get ready."
He stepped forward, water dripping from his hair, swords gleaming under the lightning.
"They're about to attack."
Chiyo stepped up beside Kenji, her eyes sharp. Rain pounded down around them, thunder crackling across the sky. The sea churned violently—and then—
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning struck the ocean just ahead of the ship, and from it surged a colossal Lightning Snake, its body glowing with electricity and scales crackling with light. It burst from the water with a roar that shook the entire ship.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Chiyo shouted, eyes wide.
Kawai screeched, "MEEP!!" and immediately dove behind Amai, trembling.
Timmy dove after him, clinging to Amai's leg. "We're all gonna die!"
Kenji stepped forward without hesitation. "KEN-SLASH!!"
With a roar, he slashed the air with both blades, sending a cutting shockwave straight at the snake.
Chiyo jumped forward, raising her hands. "Time to go BOOM, babies. Mini Cute Bats!!"
In a flurry of sparkles, dozens of small, fluffy bats with shiny eyes and puffball bodies appeared. They zipped toward the Lightning Snake, squeaking adorably before their eyes turned into shimmering hearts.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They exploded in midair, surrounding the monster in bursts of pink and white light. The snake shrieked, electricity flaring wildly as it took heavy damage.
But it wasn't down.
Its body sparked violently before it shot a massive bolt of lightning from its mouth—
KZZZAAAAAAK!
"KENJI!!" Chiyo screamed.
Kenji didn't flinch. He launched himself into the air, blades crossed. "I've got it!"
BOOOOM!!
The lightning hit him dead-on, exploding in a blast of white and gold. Smoke trailed from his body as he crashed back onto the ship, unmoving.
"KENJI!!!" Chiyo and Timmy cried out at once.
Chiyo rushed forward, summoning her bats again. "Go! Get him back!"
The bats fluttered around Kenji's body, gently grabbing hold and pulling him back from the edge of the ship.
"Amai!" Chiyo shouted, her voice panicked. "I need you to heal him—now!"
Amai shook her head, horrified. "I—I can't! My powers only work during the day!"
"Crap!" Chiyo gritted her teeth.
Tony was still at the helm, trying to fight the wheel. "Shit! The ship—it's not stopping! We're headed straight for the snake!"
Chiyo turned, shouting over the wind. "Eleo! Olorun! Get your asses up here—we need backup!"
Eleo shot to his feet, dripping wet. "Huh?! What happened?!"
Olorun cracked his neck and stared at the snake. "Snakes… I HATE snakes."
He launched off the deck with a burst of strength. "SUPER JUMP!!"
As he flew through the air, he began to spin rapidly. "SPIN TORNADO!!"
His body became a blur of limbs and speed—arms like helicopter blades, slicing through the storm.
WHAM!!!
Olorun crashed right into the snake's face, sending electricity flying in all directions.
But the impact knocked him flying the other way—
SPLASH!
He slammed into the ocean.
"Olorun!!" Chiyo screamed.
Timmy grabbed Eleo's arm. "ELEO! Go get him!!"
"I'm on it!" Eleo said, eyes wide. "Ink Rope!"
He hurled his rope into the water—it stretched out like a lifeline, wrapping around Olorun and yanking him back.
But suddenly—
The Lightning Snake dove beneath the ship and slammed into its underside. The whole vessel bucked violently.
Eleo stumbled—
"Whoa—!"
SPLASH!!
He was dragged overboard, yanked into the sea still clutching the rope.
"ELEO!!" Timmy screamed, running to the edge.
Underwater, everything was a blur of bubbles and dark blue light. Eleo kicked furiously, still holding tight to the rope as he saw Olorun getting dragged by the snake, floating deeper.
And then—he froze.
From the abyss below, shapes began to rise.
More monsters.
Huge, ancient ones.
Scales glimmering in the deep. Eyes glowing. Teeth flashing.
Eleo's pupils shrank.
"…What the heck are those?"
The snake twisted in the water, its body glowing with flickering lightning. Olorun's thrust a punch into the snake's face.
WHAM!
Nothing.
"OW—why is it built like a brick wall?!" Olorun shouted, shaking his hand in pain. "WHO MADE THIS THING?!"
The Lightning Snake hissed in rage. But before it could strike—
GRRRRAAAAAAH!!!
From the shadows below, the mouths of several massive monsters opened wide, releasing beams of multicolored energy.
Eleo's eyes widened in horror. "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT—!!!"
He twisted just in time to dodge a beam flying past his face. "That almost vaporized my cute little nose!"
A few of the beams missed—but several others struck the Lightning Snake dead-on.
KA-BOOOOOOM!!!
The snake was obliterated in an instant, reduced to glowing chunks of meat and bubbles.
There was silence underwater for a moment.
Then Olorun started wriggling his arms and legs, doing a little underwater happy dance. "I'M ALIVE! WOOOO!!"
Eleo grinned and started bobbing up and down, flailing his arms. "UNDERWATER PARTY!!"
Suddenly—
A beam of light broke through the depths. They both turned, and their jaws dropped.
Floating in the abyss below were dozens and dozens of legendary monsters—some locked in fierce battles, others roaring, glowing, thrashing through the water.
And a few… had their glowing eyes locked directly on Eleo and Olorun.
Several monsters charged beams in their mouths.
Eleo and Olorun looked at each other.
Beams shot toward them.
They both screamed in unison as they swam for their lives.
Meanwhile, back on the ship…
Tony stood at the rail, scanning the churning sea. Lightning flashed behind him.
"Alright, let's see—" He squinted. His eyes widened. "What in the actual hells...?"
From the ocean, a dozen massive beams of light burst through the waves, one after another.
Tony blinked slowly. "Huh. Looks like Eleo and Olorun are having a party." He casually stepped back. "A really flashy one."
In the middle of the deck, Timmy bounced frantically on Kenji's chest. "KENJI, PLEASE WAKE UP!! I'll—I'll clean your swords for you! I'll even polish the handles, okay?!"
Kawai whined and jumped on top of him too, their tiny flippers patting his face.
Kenji groaned slightly but didn't open his eyes.
Amai knelt beside them, brow furrowed. "Timmy, do you have anything? Any potions? Healing dust? Magic jellybeans?"
Timmy looked down, defeated. "I really can't do much without potions. Once we hit World 2, I promise I'll buy like—so many. I'll even get the shiny kinds."
Suddenly—
CRACK!!
Lightning struck the mast again. The ship trembled, but miraculously, nothing caught fire.
Tony shouted, "Okay, that was too close! We can't fly outta here, which probably wouldn't help anyway—and we can't use the booster 'cause the engine's DEAD!"
He turned to Amai, frustrated. "Please tell me there's a way to turn it back on!"
Amai crossed her arms with a deadpan look. "If the engine magically turned off, blame the strongest barrier in World 1. And I'm pretty sure we ran out of gas after sailing for five straight days without stopping."
Tony stared at her. "…So no, then?"
Before anyone could respond—
WHOOOOOOM!!
Two more legendary monsters burst from the water—one to the left, one to the right. Their massive forms towered above the deck, roaring with rage.
Timmy and Kawai screamed and clung to each other, shaking in place.
"MEEEEP!"
"WE'RE TOO SMALL FOR THIS!!"
Chiyo rolled her eyes, summoning more of her bats. "Great. More of these bastards."