03-10-2010, 01:21 AM
The shadow pulsed again, growing larger in Belle's field of vision as it approached. He tried to calm his thoughts as he curled down and wrenched at the tangle of rope that had ensnared his foot, but he was finding it very hard concentrate . Come on, he thought, clenching his teeth so hard that they felt like they were going to crack. He silently swore as his fingers slipped. Goddamn it! Come ... on!
The pressure in his ears was building up fast as the light from the surface started to fade. He had to free himself soon.
Lightning flashed again, brighter than before, followed swiftly by a twin. The monster was nearer now, and in the light, Belle realized what it was:
A squid. A giant, angry-red squid the size of a city block. Its swollen, arrow-like head was crusted with barnacles, mussels, and other shells, coating it like a suit of armor.
The water shook, and Belle looked up. Overhead, the two pointed ovals that marked the underside of the two battling ships had wedged together, one end of the pirate's ship jammed against the side of the Maiden's Dream. A fresh hail of debris showered into the sea and was stirred into a whirlwind by the passing of the giant squid, which had turned its mantle downward, ignoring the curiosity above to follow Belle into the depths.
It fanned its tentacles out, swelled, and burst forward.
Belle only had a second to react. Abandoning the knot around his leg, he turned, gathered his energy into his hands, and fired. The blast slapped against the water, pushing Belle out of the way, and the squid's craggy mantle speared through empty water.
It screamed; Belle didn't think that a squid could sound angry, but it did. Its cry, low and yawning, was like the muffled screech of a rusty door. The invisible wall of water thrown up by its passage slammed into Belle and he tumbled backward, arms and legs waving as he tried to catch himself. He stopped his chaotic whirl just in time to see the squid's passing tentacles open up and lash out, snaring something below him that he couldn't see.
The rope tightened.
Son of a - !
Bubbles flew from Belle's mouth as the rope abruptly changed direction and pulled him violently through the water, his body tossing and turning like a can dragged by a car on the freeway. The thickly knotted cords around his foot tightened from a firm grip into a vice, and he felt like his leg was about to be yanked out of its socket - and the sensation only grew worse with every passing second.
The cannon, he realized: the squid must have grabbed it.
Fighting against the current, he forced his head down, reached out, and grabbed his leg. Digging his fingers into his skin, shutting out the pain, he slowly pulled himself forward, sparing a look up at the massive nest of shadowy tentacles into which the other end of the rope had disappeared.
If he didn't take action soon the squid would notice that its prey had suddenly become a passenger.
His energy might not be enough to cut the rope like a blade, but it might be enough if he concentrated all of it together. Squinting against the rushing water like a skydiver plunging through the air, he strained his arms out, grasping, and closed one hand around the rope. Focusing his power as his other hand joined the first, he concentrated with all his might on the point between his palms.
The water around his fingers sizzled - lightly at first, then quickly rose to a boil as his hands started to glow like molten metal. A torrent of bubbles flooded upward as the rope under his hands started to wither. His body tensed, every fiber of his being willing more power into his arms...
There was a sharp flash of light, and the death-grip on Belle's foot loosed. His legs swung back, his hands still tight on the sizzling, severed end of thick lashing rope.
Belle let go, finally free. He reoriented himself, looked up, and started kicking quickly for the surface. The weight on his foot was awkward, but he dared not stop to fully remove the remaining knots.
He made it about halfway back when he heard another scream. Belle turned his attention down just in time to see the squid's monstrous maw fanning open, tentacles spread and beak snapping, still trailing the severed length of hemp. Belle reacted without thinking, reached inside, and Flashed.
Time seemed to slow down as the world in front of Belle expanded. The salt water on his tongue stung, tangy and brined, and prickled against his eyes. He saw not only the squid, but the faint shafts of light playing across its body, and the miniscule lives that flitted like motes of dust within. He heard the rush of water, and could see in his mind's eye the flow of currents caused by it. It was a moment of clarity - a single, instantaneous second of complete and utter consciousness, and in that heartbeat, Belle saw every possible future, every action and reaction, every cause and effect. Then it passed.
Shooting his hands down, Belle fired off another blast of energy, flipping backward through the salty water as two of the arms swiped for him and missed. He twisted, dodging another as the image in his mind played out. A feeder tentacle the was bigger than he was swung at him, and he reached out as he scooted slightly to the side, letting the displaced water push him the final inch he needed to dodge, and grabbed on.
Belle pressed his palms against the tentacle, kicked off, spun, then fanned out his arms and legs and turned to the side, passing through the gap between the last two tentacles. He reached out, grabbed the rope, and bumped against the creature's rocky hide just above its eye. He clenched his free hand, braced his knees against the squid, and slammed his fist just above the kraken's eye.
A third scream. The squid bucked and spasmed wildly, its enormous eye burning with hatred. Belle smirked, and hit it again.
The eye suddenly went hazy and unfocused as the beast listed to the side, then shook itself as if trying to clear its head, dazed. Holding tight to the rope, Belle planted his feet amongst the barnacles and started to move down towards the fins. Leaving plenty of slack in the rope, he briefly ducked under one of the now-limp flaps, wrapped the rope around it, emerged back over top, and continued to the next, moving quickly as the squid started to come to its senses.
Wrapping the final loop around the second find, criss-crossing the ropes, Belle clambered back to the top as the kraken's eyes focused once more. Gathering up the bit of slack that he had left before, he wrapped it around his free arm, the other holding the severed end. He stamped his foot and gave a hard tug, yanking the tip of the squid upward.
The battle was getting messy. Caught off guard by the pirates' ferocity, many of the crew had fled to the lower decks. Those that could not make it had been herded onto the top of the aft castle, where they struggled to hold the line against a seething mass of angry, beweaponed sea dogs. The pirates' actions, many of the crew thought, had doomed them all, but it wasn't until someone started screaming 'kraken!' that their panic truly began to rise.
The heads of both the navy and lawless turned in unison to stare out at the water, eyes searching where the pointed finger of a dirty, frightened looking deckhand extended.
At first, they saw nothing. Then, slowly, the waves plumped upward, as something massive were snaking below the surface. The swell faded, then rose again, a dark shape undulating just out of sight. A flash of fleshy red broke the surface in a frothy spray, then receded.
The rain pounded down and the waves tossed and turned like a pig in slop. The merged ships creaked and groaned, the shouts of men carrying above them as they attempted to stem the rush of water filling the lower hold. A powerful gust of wind whistled across the deck, lifting a tricorn hat that had been trodden under in the fighting into the sky. It sailed like a feather over the sea, then landed lightly in the waves, which suddenly surged again.
Something broke the surface. It was a hand, calloused and tan, and gripped the folded brim of the hat tightly in its fingers. The arm rose, draped in a sleeve matted to the skin by the water, gold buttons shimmering on the cuffs. Then the hair came, wild and vividly red even amongst the darkness.
Belle Hibiki plopped his tricorn back onto his head, gasping for breath, and regripped one of the ropes he wielded like a horseman's reins. "Ya!" he snapped, stamping, and the massive form below the waves sped up. Shimmering barnacles broke the surface, glittering against a flash of lightning. Above the waves rose the form of the legendary kraken, its hide covered in an armor-like sheathe of shells. It splashed down just below the waves, a sliver of its terrible form visible, and whipped forward like a living torpedo.
The tip smashed against the underside of the pirate ship with incomprehensible force. All of the men on the Maiden's Dream staggered, several flying overboard as the impact drove the Black Oyster deeper against the galleon's side. The kraken sank below the waves as seawater poured into the fresh, gaping wound in the pirate ship's hull.
Far from being startled into silence, the noise and yelling was so loud that it was impossible to hear oneself think. Before more than a handful of pirates could swing back over, the water around their ship suddenly erupted, long squid tentacles flying up to wrap around its hull, smaller feelers sweeping across the deck and knocking men screaming into the drink.
Belle Hibibi emerged, standing above the angry eyes of the beast, and drew his cutlass. He gave a war bellow worthy of Poseidon himself, his voice shaking the very heavens, and pointed his sword at the enemy ship. His eyes were alight with the fury of the storm, and his lip was twisted into an eager, Devilish smile.
The pressure in his ears was building up fast as the light from the surface started to fade. He had to free himself soon.
Lightning flashed again, brighter than before, followed swiftly by a twin. The monster was nearer now, and in the light, Belle realized what it was:
A squid. A giant, angry-red squid the size of a city block. Its swollen, arrow-like head was crusted with barnacles, mussels, and other shells, coating it like a suit of armor.
The water shook, and Belle looked up. Overhead, the two pointed ovals that marked the underside of the two battling ships had wedged together, one end of the pirate's ship jammed against the side of the Maiden's Dream. A fresh hail of debris showered into the sea and was stirred into a whirlwind by the passing of the giant squid, which had turned its mantle downward, ignoring the curiosity above to follow Belle into the depths.
It fanned its tentacles out, swelled, and burst forward.
Belle only had a second to react. Abandoning the knot around his leg, he turned, gathered his energy into his hands, and fired. The blast slapped against the water, pushing Belle out of the way, and the squid's craggy mantle speared through empty water.
It screamed; Belle didn't think that a squid could sound angry, but it did. Its cry, low and yawning, was like the muffled screech of a rusty door. The invisible wall of water thrown up by its passage slammed into Belle and he tumbled backward, arms and legs waving as he tried to catch himself. He stopped his chaotic whirl just in time to see the squid's passing tentacles open up and lash out, snaring something below him that he couldn't see.
The rope tightened.
Son of a - !
Bubbles flew from Belle's mouth as the rope abruptly changed direction and pulled him violently through the water, his body tossing and turning like a can dragged by a car on the freeway. The thickly knotted cords around his foot tightened from a firm grip into a vice, and he felt like his leg was about to be yanked out of its socket - and the sensation only grew worse with every passing second.
The cannon, he realized: the squid must have grabbed it.
Fighting against the current, he forced his head down, reached out, and grabbed his leg. Digging his fingers into his skin, shutting out the pain, he slowly pulled himself forward, sparing a look up at the massive nest of shadowy tentacles into which the other end of the rope had disappeared.
If he didn't take action soon the squid would notice that its prey had suddenly become a passenger.
His energy might not be enough to cut the rope like a blade, but it might be enough if he concentrated all of it together. Squinting against the rushing water like a skydiver plunging through the air, he strained his arms out, grasping, and closed one hand around the rope. Focusing his power as his other hand joined the first, he concentrated with all his might on the point between his palms.
The water around his fingers sizzled - lightly at first, then quickly rose to a boil as his hands started to glow like molten metal. A torrent of bubbles flooded upward as the rope under his hands started to wither. His body tensed, every fiber of his being willing more power into his arms...
There was a sharp flash of light, and the death-grip on Belle's foot loosed. His legs swung back, his hands still tight on the sizzling, severed end of thick lashing rope.
Belle let go, finally free. He reoriented himself, looked up, and started kicking quickly for the surface. The weight on his foot was awkward, but he dared not stop to fully remove the remaining knots.
He made it about halfway back when he heard another scream. Belle turned his attention down just in time to see the squid's monstrous maw fanning open, tentacles spread and beak snapping, still trailing the severed length of hemp. Belle reacted without thinking, reached inside, and Flashed.
Time seemed to slow down as the world in front of Belle expanded. The salt water on his tongue stung, tangy and brined, and prickled against his eyes. He saw not only the squid, but the faint shafts of light playing across its body, and the miniscule lives that flitted like motes of dust within. He heard the rush of water, and could see in his mind's eye the flow of currents caused by it. It was a moment of clarity - a single, instantaneous second of complete and utter consciousness, and in that heartbeat, Belle saw every possible future, every action and reaction, every cause and effect. Then it passed.
Shooting his hands down, Belle fired off another blast of energy, flipping backward through the salty water as two of the arms swiped for him and missed. He twisted, dodging another as the image in his mind played out. A feeder tentacle the was bigger than he was swung at him, and he reached out as he scooted slightly to the side, letting the displaced water push him the final inch he needed to dodge, and grabbed on.
Belle pressed his palms against the tentacle, kicked off, spun, then fanned out his arms and legs and turned to the side, passing through the gap between the last two tentacles. He reached out, grabbed the rope, and bumped against the creature's rocky hide just above its eye. He clenched his free hand, braced his knees against the squid, and slammed his fist just above the kraken's eye.
A third scream. The squid bucked and spasmed wildly, its enormous eye burning with hatred. Belle smirked, and hit it again.
The eye suddenly went hazy and unfocused as the beast listed to the side, then shook itself as if trying to clear its head, dazed. Holding tight to the rope, Belle planted his feet amongst the barnacles and started to move down towards the fins. Leaving plenty of slack in the rope, he briefly ducked under one of the now-limp flaps, wrapped the rope around it, emerged back over top, and continued to the next, moving quickly as the squid started to come to its senses.
Wrapping the final loop around the second find, criss-crossing the ropes, Belle clambered back to the top as the kraken's eyes focused once more. Gathering up the bit of slack that he had left before, he wrapped it around his free arm, the other holding the severed end. He stamped his foot and gave a hard tug, yanking the tip of the squid upward.
~+~+~+~+~
The battle was getting messy. Caught off guard by the pirates' ferocity, many of the crew had fled to the lower decks. Those that could not make it had been herded onto the top of the aft castle, where they struggled to hold the line against a seething mass of angry, beweaponed sea dogs. The pirates' actions, many of the crew thought, had doomed them all, but it wasn't until someone started screaming 'kraken!' that their panic truly began to rise.
The heads of both the navy and lawless turned in unison to stare out at the water, eyes searching where the pointed finger of a dirty, frightened looking deckhand extended.
At first, they saw nothing. Then, slowly, the waves plumped upward, as something massive were snaking below the surface. The swell faded, then rose again, a dark shape undulating just out of sight. A flash of fleshy red broke the surface in a frothy spray, then receded.
The rain pounded down and the waves tossed and turned like a pig in slop. The merged ships creaked and groaned, the shouts of men carrying above them as they attempted to stem the rush of water filling the lower hold. A powerful gust of wind whistled across the deck, lifting a tricorn hat that had been trodden under in the fighting into the sky. It sailed like a feather over the sea, then landed lightly in the waves, which suddenly surged again.
Something broke the surface. It was a hand, calloused and tan, and gripped the folded brim of the hat tightly in its fingers. The arm rose, draped in a sleeve matted to the skin by the water, gold buttons shimmering on the cuffs. Then the hair came, wild and vividly red even amongst the darkness.
Belle Hibiki plopped his tricorn back onto his head, gasping for breath, and regripped one of the ropes he wielded like a horseman's reins. "Ya!" he snapped, stamping, and the massive form below the waves sped up. Shimmering barnacles broke the surface, glittering against a flash of lightning. Above the waves rose the form of the legendary kraken, its hide covered in an armor-like sheathe of shells. It splashed down just below the waves, a sliver of its terrible form visible, and whipped forward like a living torpedo.
The tip smashed against the underside of the pirate ship with incomprehensible force. All of the men on the Maiden's Dream staggered, several flying overboard as the impact drove the Black Oyster deeper against the galleon's side. The kraken sank below the waves as seawater poured into the fresh, gaping wound in the pirate ship's hull.
Far from being startled into silence, the noise and yelling was so loud that it was impossible to hear oneself think. Before more than a handful of pirates could swing back over, the water around their ship suddenly erupted, long squid tentacles flying up to wrap around its hull, smaller feelers sweeping across the deck and knocking men screaming into the drink.
Belle Hibibi emerged, standing above the angry eyes of the beast, and drew his cutlass. He gave a war bellow worthy of Poseidon himself, his voice shaking the very heavens, and pointed his sword at the enemy ship. His eyes were alight with the fury of the storm, and his lip was twisted into an eager, Devilish smile.
![[Image: Bellesig6-1.jpg]](http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff137/catseye543/Bellesig6-1.jpg)