The battle reached a fever pitch as half of the airship's roof was torn completely off, metal shrieking as it peeled away. In the chaos, Lucidia's eyes suddenly whitened out, her pupils vanishing into a terrifying, blank glow. Without a word, she lunged from the deck, backflipping through the air with impossible grace before launching downward like a meteor. Her heavy sword sliced through one of the sandmen, creating a massive, jagged hole in his chest.
Aero stopped fighting for a second, gazing at Lucidia in awe. Oh my god, she is the one, he thought, completely lovestruck. His distraction cost him; a sandman kicked him squarely in the back, sending him flying off the edge of the airship.
"FLAMING FIST!" Aero shouted, his flame aether igniting. He stabilized in mid-air and blasted the bandit, burning him down to the ground.
Back on the deck, Quinna ducked behind a crate. "Hey Acheron, why are you not fighting?"
"And why are YOU not fighting?" Acheron countered calmly.
"Because I do not have any aether!"
"You have a gun," Acheron noted.
"And you can create toxin out of your bare hands!" Quinna snapped.
"Shush, I am just thinking of a battle strategy," said Acheron.
Ash leaned against the mast, still shaky. "Eevee! You are asleep?! You all are not helping besides Mugen, Aero, and Lucidia!"
"You are not either," Acheron pointed out.
"I AM INJURED!" Ash barked back.
"I have an idea," Acheron said, suddenly grabbing a drowsy Eevee by the collar. "Eevee, destabilize those bunch."
"But I cannot fly—AHHHH!" Eevee screamed as Acheron tossed her overboard.
"But you can swing," Acheron called out.
"Oh yeah, I can!" Eevee realized mid-fall. She hooked a rope and swung through the air, destabilizing three sandmen.
"Shoot them!" Acheron commanded Quinna.
"Fine," said Quinna when Acheron commanded. She fired her gun, taking them out.
"And now it is me time," Acheron said, lunging off the airship.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? YOU CANNOT FLY!" Quinna yelled.
"Are you sure?" Acheron glanced back as a magical, winged snake appeared at his side. He hopped onto its back, skateboarding through the air.
"What the hell is that?!"
"It is my pet. Her name is Veno," Acheron replied. He began shooting heat-seeking poison shots from his body, dissolving sandmen near him.
Suddenly, a dense, swirling smoke wrapped around Lucidia. Her eyes returned to normal as she gasped for air. Out of the fog stepped a tall, imposing figure: Mr. Haze, Captain of Fleet 14.
Aero lunged toward him to save Lucidia, but he too was trapped in the thick, suffocating smoke.
"I am Mr. Haze, Captain of Fleet 14," the man announced, his voice muffled by the vapor. "We are only here to loot this airship. Either give us the loot, or it is these two's lives."
Eevee, swinging from the back, launched a kick at him. Mr. Haze caught her by the head like a toy. "What a pathetic little ant."
"Hey, I am not little! You are just big!" Eevee squeaked.
"Acheron, why are you not doing anything?" Quinna yelled from the ship.
"If I do, I will get trapped by him," Acheron said. "I need Mugen and Quinna."
"I cannot fly!" Quinna reminded him.
"I cannot fly either," Mugen grunted, still holding the ship together. "And I am also stabilizing the airship."
"It is fine, I can stabilize it!" Aero's grandpa shouted, grabbing the controls.
"Are you sure?" Mugen asked.
"Of course! I am much more stronger than I look, young one!"
Mr. Haze laughed. "How pathetic. I am just here and they are doing absolutely nothing to save their little friends. I will just have to kill you all, huh?"
Suddenly, a giant figure of a man with an axe loomed over him—Mugen. Acheron shot poisonous shots from afar while Mugen lunged toward Mr. Haze's upper body. The Captain lost control, dropping because of Mugen's weight. Quinna fired a precision shot at Mr. Haze's right arm, untrapping Aero.
Aero threw a fireball at Mr. Haze and then created a safe fire sphere around them so they could be in the air without falling. Aero caught Lucidia and Eevee before they could fall down with Mr. Haze.
They all went back onto the airship. "We are incredibly sorry, sir," the group told the grandpa.
"It is okay, I can fix this baby in no time," he replied.
"I can help," Mugen offered.
They asked if Ash was okay now. Ash looked grave. "That Mr. Haze guy... he is the lowest ranked fleet captain from one of the most dangerous criminal groups ever. My family has faced the upper ranks before... they do not take revenge lightly. They will be coming after us."
"Yeah, yeah," Acheron waved a hand. "But we asked if you are okay?"
"I am feeling... a little better, I guess," Ash admitted.
Aero turned to Lucidia, his face slightly red. "You did it again, Lucidia. The whitened eyes... and you become so strong and lost control. Do you have metaphysical aether, Lucidia?"
"I do not know," she said, looking at her hands. "I have had this for a long time now and it is so random."
"And hot!" Aero added.
Quinna chuckled at Aero's terrible pick-up lines.