Kaelor sprang forward hard enough to make the bars sing, but quickly turned back to grab a snack he had clearly been saving. After shoving it into his mouth, he bolted from his cell at full speed.
"No running!" Skelly Mom yelled sharply from deeper in the brig. "It's dangerous!"
Kaelor's shoulders hunched immediately, his pace reducing at once to a disappointed shuffle, like a child scolded by an unstoppable authority. He approached the Presidroid guarding the entrance to the brig with a crestfallen expression.
The Presidroid carefully held up a small comm device. "I'm just going to put this in your ear so you're able to communicate more easily," it explained cautiously, slowly placing it in what appeared to be the appropriate hole.
Kaelor stared blankly. "That is not my ear."
The Presidroid froze momentarily, withdrew the comm, then approached another hole and slowly began moving the device toward it. It paused uncertainly and glanced upward for confirmation.
"That is also not my ear," Kaelor clarified patiently.
"Extra apologies," the Presidroid said stiffly, recoiling politely. "Then where exactly is your ear?"
Kaelor's mouth widened into a distinctly amused grin. "It's located where humans have what they call their belly button."
"Ah. My sincerest apologies," the Presidroid repeated awkwardly. "We... will skip the comm."
A tiny, cartoonish illusory pirate abruptly appeared between Kaelor and the Presidroid, distinctly unlike Sorrowclaw's usual elaborate illusions. With exaggerated movement, it jumped into Kaelor's mouth and clung tightly onto one of his teeth.
"He can use that to communicate with me, and I will relay his messages," Sorrowclaw explained cheerfully. "I can't currently create larger illusions with mass, but this one should work just fine."
Kaelor's giant, putrid tongue curiously licked the back of the little pirate construct. "Why does this taste like those delicious battery things Roy keeps hidden in random contraptions?"
Sorrowclaw's voice took on a tone of weary exasperation. "Why are you tasting it in the first place?"
"Out of my brig!" Skellbro snapped impatiently.
Kaelor quickly moved for the exit, stretching in the doorway, arms up, spine cracking.
Sorrowclaw slipped past him with a dancer's grace. "Move, move, now! I must dance freely, with room, space, and freedom. Now get out of my way!"
As she drifted down the corridor, her hips swayed into a rhythmic beat. She turned toward a side passage and nearly collided with a Presidroid.
"Where are you going?" the Presidroid asked, confused by her sudden detour.
"Dancing clothes," Sorrowclaw replied immediately, the word heavy with disappointment for a performance that would lack its usual beauty.
Serenity's voice sounded clearly over the comm. "The bridge is locked down, meaning the Infinite Wardrobe is blocked."
Sorrowclaw spun gracefully, glanced down at her sweater-covered arms, and sighed deeply. "The comfort is beyond measure," she lamented, voice rising with theatrical sorrow. "But the flair, the flair is absent."
Now free to run, Kaelor reached the deck at a blistering pace. He set his massive hands on the railing and attempted to vault it in one smooth leap, but the metal bent beneath his weight and snapped downward, sending him tumbling end over end to land face-first in the ocean below. A Presidroid leaned over, peering into the water, and for a heartbeat nothing moved.
Kaelor burst from the water far from the ship with a whoop, moving like a shooting star as he pierced straight through a giant isopod. The sea seemed to welcome him, he moved with an unearthly speed, his arms slicing through the water like blades. To all who witnessed it, it was undeniable, the ocean was Kaelor's true domain, a stark contrast to his movements on land.
Streams of water rose from the ocean, forming solid, suspended tunnels above the waves. Kaelor surged upward, swimming through them with perfect ease. He launched from one tube, plunged back into the sea, and burst upward into another, tearing away pieces of isopods nearly as large as himself as he passed. Missiles fired from the Nightshatter struck at the flailing tentacles nearby, drawing their attention and disrupting any attempts to intercept Kaelor.
On the bridge, the Presidroids watched the feed from the Nightshatter's exterior camera systems, communicating privately via their peer-to-peer comms. Hayes stood near Garfield, arms folded as he activated the private channel.
"In the water, he's stronger," Hayes observed.
"Stronger isn't the word," Garfield replied calmly, a faint smile in his tone. "This is his territory. He's at home."
Hayes scoffed lightly. "Breaking news, fish are at home in water."
Garfield simply nodded in Hayes' direction, deliberately and mildly, further irritating him.
On a turret to starboard, Sorrowclaw began to dance. Her bare feet tapped a beat audible only to her as she spun, arms gracefully tracing arcs around her. Thin, shimmering bands of illusion spilled outward from her fingertips like ribbons, floating gently over the waves and forming subtle distortions designed to mislead the creatures in the water.
As Kaelor destroyed one of the giant tentacles, its massive bulk collapsed into the ocean, unleashing a colossal wave that surged hundreds of feet high. In midair, Kaelor began falling, momentarily vulnerable. Two nearby isopods seized the chance, launching themselves into the air to intercept him, but the shimmering bands twisted their senses, drawing their hungry attention toward empty phantoms. Their grasping mouths snapped harmlessly at the illusory targets as Kaelor plunged safely through the opening.
He sank deep beneath the surface, eyes fixing upon the titanic monstrosity below. Its three enormous, blood-red eyes stared back up at him, full of a slow, malignant fury. The immense mouth opened slightly, revealing teeth larger than any one creature should ever bear. Kaelor met that terrifying gaze with amused defiance, laughing in open mockery.
Beyond the ring of isopods, the water's surface ruptured violently to reveal another gigantic tentacle, one as thick as the Nightshatter. Its grotesque form combined stone-like plating, metallic segments, and pulsating flesh. Blade-like, finger-shaped appendages emerged from its underside, twitching hungrily.
The tentacle swiftly descended upon one of the enormous isopods, pinning it brutally beneath its mass. The isopod let out a shrill, chittering cry, limbs flailing wildly in desperation. The blade-like arms plunged through its shell from multiple angles, and the isopod went silent, twitching once before going limp. With monstrous strength, the tentacle wrenched the dead creature upward, pulled back, and hurled the lifeless mass directly toward the Nightshatter with immense, devastating force.
On the bridge, panic erupted. Serenity and the Presidroids scrambled, redirecting all available weapons to face the incoming threat, but the freshly inscribed runic artillery shells were still incomplete. They fired arcane CIWS guns alongside a barrage of explosive drones and smaller weaponry, desperate to at least slow the massive incoming projectile.
"Serenity!" Harmony's voice broke in urgently. "We need an emergency measure! Move the Nightshatter!"
Before Serenity could respond, Sorrowclaw's voice piped calmly through the comm. "Wait," she said. The single word held surprising assurance. "It's fine."
Out on the waves, walls of water surged upward from nothing, each rising over a hundred feet into the sky. The massive isopod corpse smashed into the first wall, slowing slightly, then punched through successive barriers, each further draining its momentum. When the isopod reached the final wall, Kaelor burst from one of his water tunnels behind it, upper body emerging from the tube with unrestrained exhilaration. He caught the colossal body, stopped its momentum dead, and hurled it back down into the ocean with a forceful crash.
Kaelor streaked forward once more through a suspended tube of seawater, screaming joyfully at the top of his lungs, arms wide, basking in the thrill of combat.
Sorrowclaw placed a hand to her ear, then spoke again, pitch dropping into an uncanny imitation of Kaelor. "He says, 'I will not let anything hit the ship and anger the ones below,'" she relayed gravely.
"Have faith," she added in her own voice, confidence clear. "In the water, even the Drowned King himself would find Kaelor hard to kill."
Almost immediately, dozens of tentacles erupted from the ocean, each lined from base to tip with rigid, blade-like fingers dripping a vile substance into the sea and causing it to boil and steam on contact. Sorrowclaw spun to a halt, eyes widening dramatically. She murmured into the comm, reverting once more to Kaelor's voice, this time far less confident.
"Kaelor says, 'maybe a little less faith now'."
Serenity's voice cut decisively through the comm, broadcasting clearly to all Presidroids. "Half of those enhancing small arms, shift immediately to reinforcing the hull," she ordered. "Missiles and main guns remain enchanted. Everyone else, prepare for personal engagement."
The Presidroids moved without hesitation, exchanging eager boasts and playful taunts about who would cause the most damage. Serenity continued, her tone severe. "Assume this creature will throw more isopod 'missiles'. We cannot rely solely on Kaelor catching every one."
On the bridge, several Presidroids around Serenity exchanged silent looks, subtly communicating nonverbally. Hayes immediately stepped forward.
"Permission to lead the push?" he asked eagerly.
Inside her enclosure, Serenity shook her head. "No," she replied firmly, assessing him carefully. "You're not suited for that role."
Without hesitation, Polk pointed directly at Garfield. "He is."
"No, stop," Garfield protested, as his posture stiffened slightly, clearly confused and irritated.
Presidroid Quincy immediately jumped in, grinning widely. "Garfield should absolutely lead. He's our man. He never steers us wrong!"
The other elite and advanced-model Presidroids murmured rapid agreement, forming a swift consensus that Garfield had no hope of resisting. Garfield clamped his metal palms to his face with a sharp clank, shoulders slumping in unmistakable resignation. When he lowered his hands, his entire posture spoke of reluctant acceptance.
"I did not seek this nomination," Garfield muttered, clearly irritated, "but I will accept the result."
Garfield bowed his head, accepting the weight placed upon him, exited the bridge through a hatch under a console so the guests couldn't see the outside. Echoes of Kaelor's battle rang out as Garfield jumped up to the highest observation deck. Below him, the ocean churned violently with writhing black tentacles and white spray.
The air crackled as he pressed his fingers together, pinching at air, and drew two short lines in the space before him. Mana collected along the lines, condensing into two slender pieces of chalk that glowed faintly blue. He took one in each hand and lifted his arms wide, crossing them before him.
His back straightened, movements slowing slightly as an audible clicking sound echoed from within his chassis. Mana began pooling gently around his feet, flickering in subtle waves.
"Forgotten Scripts: The Ride of Chickamauga," he intoned, left hand carving symbols in the air, chalk blazing.
A shimmering shield formed in front of the Nightshatter, a calculation turned physical.
"Forgotten Scripts: Star Route," he continued, right hand simultaneously writing a different runic font. A translucent capsule of mana formed around the main battery, morphing rapidly into its final shape.