Ch. 7: The Underwater City

A Chapter by Brenden Brown

The 8 heroes discover a secret underwater city hidden underneath a fake island.

Chapter 7: The Underwater City
Brenden, John, Tara, Seth, Scarlett, Anna, Drew, and Frank swam around the huge, transparent underwater dome in hopes of finding an entrance. They occasionally went back up for air. They finally found a passage connected to the fake island that led to the inside, so they got back onto the island to find the entrance.
"I don't know where it could be." Brenden said. "We searched the whole island."
"Wait..." Scarlett thought. "Ooh! I know!"
Scarlett ran into the abundance of trees and vanished.
"Wait!" Drew yelled, chasing after her. "Where are you going!?"
Everyone tried to follow Scarlett. Eventually, they found her by the ravine she almost fell in earlier.
"Scarlett! What are you doing back over here!?" Tara yelled. "This is dangerous!"
Scarlett carefully peeked down and saw steps that led to a sealed door.
"Ha!" Scarlett said. "Found it!"
Drew looked to find the stairs' beginning. He noticed that it wasn't there.
"The pirates must've broken the stairs on the way down." Drew said.
"So, you're assuming that the pirates are in that city?" Seth asked.
"Of course they are!" Drew rudely exclaimed. "Why would that ship be empty? Also, why wasn't the Sun Relic piece there? ALSO, the end of the last journal entry implied that one of the crew mates saw something. That something was probably the lights coming from under the water."
"Yeah." Seth smiled. "You're probably right."
Drew got a little angry.
"Anyway..." Drew said. "We need to figure out how to get down there."
"Hmm..." Anna said. "I have an idea, but..."
Anna yawned and sat down.
"I'm a bit tired." Anna quietly said. "Can we do it in the morning?"
"Where would we sleep?" Frank asked. "On the ship?"
"That could work... but..." John sighed, flopping down. "I'm a bit too tired to swim all the way over there."
"Someone could bring the ship over here." Brenden said.
Everyone looked at Frank.
"Uh, what?" Frank asked. "You want me to do it?"
"Well, you're the only one with a car." Tara said. "Plus, you don't looked so tired."
"Yeah, but..." Frank quietly said.
Frank's stomach rumbled very loudly.
"I'm kinda hungry." Frank said.
Scarlett angrily stared at Frank.
"On second thought, heh heh..." Frank gulped. "I'm feeling fine and dandy!"
"Good." Scarlett said. "Now go!"
Frank ran to the shore. He then proceeded to swim over to the ship. Once he got on, he tried to figure out how to make it move.
"Let's see..." Frank said to himself. "I think I've seen enough movies to figure out how to do this."
Frank readied his whip. He hit the ropes that were holding the sails, causing the sails to fall. He then ran over to the wheel, turned the ship towards the island, and drove it towards the shore.
"This is hard to operate with just one person." Frank said to himself. "How do I stop it again? Oh, right! The anchor!"
Frank picked up the anchor and dropped it. It caught onto a rock, causing the ship to stop.
"Okay, now to go get the others." Frank said.
Frank hopped off the ship and ran back to the ravine area. He gathered everyone up and brought them to the ship.
"Impressive." Tara admitted. "Okay, on board everyone!"
Everyone jumped onto the ship and looked for something to eat.
"Over here guys!" Brenden said. "I found stuff!"
Everyone went to Brenden and saw that he found a crate of apples.
"Do you think they're good?" Drew asked. "They may be... Hey!"
Drew looked at Frank, who was eating apples at an alarming rate.
"What?" Frank smiled. "I was hungry."
"Since Frank isn't rolling on the floor in complete agony, I think it's safe to say that these apples aren't dangerous." John smiled.
Everyone agreed and picked up an apple. Once they were done eating, they went to find a place to sleep. After a bit of searching, they found two rooms right beside each other. They both had four bunk beds in them. Tara, Anna, and Scarlett took the room on the left, and Brenden, John, Seth, Drew, and Frank chose the room on the right. After that LONG day, they decided to go to sleep.

"Scarlett. Are you awake?" Tara asked quietly.
"Well, I am now..." Scarlett yawned. "What is it?"
It was the middle of the night. Everyone was asleep on the rocking ship besides Tara and Scarlett.
"I can't sleep, for multiple reasons." Tara sighed.
"Let me hear them." Scarlett whispered.
"Well, the first reason is that this ship is rocking too much." Tara whispered. "The second is..."
"Are you okay?" Scarlett asked.
"I'm sure that my family is worried about me." Tara said, sadly. "They haven't seen me in a day, and I haven't seen them in over a year."
"It's okay." Scarlett said, trying to calm her down.
Scarlett gave Tara a hug.
"Wow. She's warm." Scarlett thought to herself. "Really warm."
"Okay, let's go to sleep." Tara whispered. "We get nowhere by being sad."
"Right." Scarlett whispered back.
Tara and Scarlett managed to get a few hours of sleep in before the next morning.

"Rise and shine!" Seth yelled throughout the rooms. "Are we going to sleep around all day or are we going to defeat some pirates!"
Everyone quickly got up, ate a couple apples, and jumped back onto the island.
"Man, that was great!" Brenden exclaimed. "Haven't slept like that in a year!"
"Okay, so what is this plan Anna?" John asked.
"I was thinking I could create an ice path down to the sealed door." Anna said. "Maybe."
"That could work." John said. "Let's go try it out."
They all nodded and headed for the ravine. Once they got there, Anna tried to create a path of ice to get down.
"Wait, I thought of something." Seth said. "I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner."
"Well, you shouldn't be surprised." Drew whispered.
"Hey!" Seth said. "Anyways, I forgot that I can fall as high as I want and I won't get hurt!"
Seth jumped down into the ravine and landed directly on his feet.
"Is there anything down there that could help us down!?" Brenden yelled.
"No!" Seth yelled back.
"Hold on." Drew said. "I need to test something."
Drew shot a bubble at Scarlett. When he did, he lifted the bubble into the air. He saw that the bubble gently glided back down to the ground and popped.
"I'm glad you think that I'm your test dummy now!" Scarlett sarcastically shouted.
"Anna, you don't have to do that anymore." Drew said. "I figured out a faster way."
"Thank goodness." Anna sighed. "That was exhausting trying to do that."
Drew shot everyone with a bubble arrow. He then pushed the bubbles into the marine. He then shot a bubble arrow up to trap himself in a bubble, but it didn't work.
"Huh? That's weird." Drew said. "I guess everyone is resistant to their respective elements. That'd explain why Seth can fall to the ground without a scratch, why Tara hasn't burned her skin off yet, or why I can hold my breath underwater for so long. In that case..."
Drew peeked down the ravine.
"Anna!" Drew shouted. "Make a clump of ice and let Tara melt it."
"Uhh... Okay!" Anna replied.
Anna created a large chunk of ice and Tara held her scythe near it until it was completely melted. Doing this made a large puddle of water.
"I hope this works." Drew said, a little scared.
Drew jumped into the ravine and landed into the puddle. He got up, unscathed.
"Ha!" Drew smirked. "I'm never wrong!"
"Yeah, yeah smarty pants." Seth rolled his eyes. "I wonder what's behind this... DOOR!"
Seth kicked down the steel door, revealing a steep slide. Everyone slid down it and were now in the underwater city.
"This place is weird." Brenden said. "Real weird."
"Not really." John said. "Looks like a standard city to me."
"Well, yeah." Brenden agreed. "It's just that, how did someone build a city way down here in the ocean?"
Everyone saw a pirate walking out of a building and quickly panicked.
"Over here!" John whispered.
Everyone hid behind the building that John was behind.
"I'm taking him out." Drew whispered.
"What!?" Anna whispered. "No!"
"We have to." Tara whispered. "They'd kill us if we don't kill them first."
"But... killing is wrong!" Anna said. Her voice was a lot less quiet. "Those are people!"
"You knew we were going to have to do this." Drew said, pulling back his bow. "It's not like you're killing the guy."
Drew stuck his head around the corner and aimed at the pirate.
Oh wait, Anna thought in her head. His bow just shoots bubbles.
After having that thought, Anna smiled and didn't say anything to Drew.
"Are you okay now?" Brenden asked.
"Yeah." Anna smiled. "Go ahead."
Drew shot an arrow at the pirate. Instead of trapping him in a bubble like Anna expected, the arrow stuck in his head and killed him. Anna saw this and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
"I thought Anna was okay with it." Seth smiled. "Oh well. Brenden, carry her."
"WHY DO I HAVE TO DO IT!?" Brenden yelled. "Ahem, sorry."
Brenden picked up Anna and carried her.
"Wow." Brenden said. "She is... REALLY cold, not to mention the armor..."
Tara looked in the window of the room they were hiding behind.
"This building is clear." Tara said. "Let's go."
Tara melted the window and hopped through. Brenden handed Anna to her and hopped in as well. Everyone followed. Tara handed Anna back to Brenden once everyone got in. Scarlett flopped onto a nearby chair.
"This is exhausting." Scarlett groaned. "I wonder how big this city is..."
Brenden set Anna down on a chair and stood near Tara.
"Ugh." Brenden sighed. "My arms are so cold."
John was peeking through a nearby window.
"It's gotta be in there." John pointed at the largest, most heavily armored building in the whole city. "There's no doubt."
"Doesn't look too bad." Seth said. "Let's go-"
"Are we looking at the same building Seth?" Drew rudely asked. "There is... NO WAY we're going to be able to sneak in there, since it's crowded with pirates and there are no windows. We're lucky we got to sneak in this building, let alone even get into the city."
"Geez..." Seth said. "Way to be pessimistic."
There was a short pause of silence that was eventually broken by Tara.
"Anyway..." Tara said. "We're going to have to rush in there and take them all out."
"Right." Brenden said. "Let's go."
Brenden picked up Anna and everyone walked out of the building. This time they went through the door.
"It doesn't look like there are any pirates over here." Drew said. "Which is weird because... um..."
Drew and the others looked at the dead pirate.
"Do they not care about their crew mates?" Brenden asked.
"Well, if you were on a small ship crowded with people for months or even years at a time, you'd probably get a tad frustrated at each individual person." Frank said with what looked like a smile.
"So, we're rushing in there?" John said. "Sounds like a plan."
"First, we should wait until Anna wakes up." Scarlett suggested. "She is our healer after all."
Everyone agreed and waited for about ten minutes or so. Anna eventually woke up.
"Huh?" Anna said. "LET GO OF ME!"
Anna squirmed out of Brenden's arms. She then walked over to Drew and angrily stared at him.
"What?" Drew said. "You said you were okay with it."
"I thought your bow only shot bubbles!" Anna shouted. "Now you've-"
"Anna, calm down." John said. "Here's what we're about to do."
John explained their strategy to Anna.

"Well, if we have no other choice..." Anna sighed.
"Is everyone ready?" Brenden said.
Everyone nodded.
"Okay, on three." Brenden said. "One, two, three!"
Seth rammed into the door of the large building. Everyone funneled in and saw a barrage of pirates.
"Hey!" Scarlett shouted. "What did you do with the Sun Relic piece! Tell us or else!"
All the pirates looked at each other for a few seconds then started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Brenden said.
"That's a laugh." One of the pirates said. "Ya really think we're scared of a group o' lads?"
The pirates unsheathed their cutlasses and readied for an attack. Tara ran towards one, impaled his stomach with her scythe, and threw his fiery corpse at another pirate.
"We're all just a bunch of seventeen and eighteen year-olds, but we can still kick your pirate butts!" Tara exclaimed.
"Rrgh." A heavily geared pirate grunted. "Protect the captain with your lives men!"
"Hmph, I'd like to see you try." Seth mocked. "Come at me!"
A pirate ran towards Seth. He cut Seth's face, but it didn't take long for Seth to hit the pirate's jaw, causing him to fly into the opposite wall of the building.
"They're strong." A pirate said. "I think they want the Golden Meteor!"
"Golden Meteor?" Brenden asked. "You mean the Sun Relic piece? It's a gold rock-looking thing that looks like a piece of the Sun."
The pirate got an angrier expression on their faces.
"Tell me lad." The heavily geared pirate said. "What do you all want with this so-called "Sun Relish" piece?"
"RELIC piece." Drew corrected.
"Thank you for your input." Brenden sarcastically said.
Brenden turned to the pirate.
"I know you'll never believe us, but we need it to save the world." Brenden explained. "The Sun Relic piece is a piece of a portal to the Underworld. We need it to defeat a great evil we call Daku to save humanity."
The pirates had a face of disbelief.
"He's right." John said. "Give us the piece... if you value your lives. We have little time for playing."
"Rrgh!" The pirate yelled. "No way are we givin' you it! Ever since we got it, we've been hitting gold jackpots like crazy."
The pirate pulled out a gun and pointed it at Tara.
"Young lady." The pirate said. "I don't have a clue what you are, but it ain't right!"
The pirate shot a bullet, but John sliced it in two mid-air.
"Don't mess with Tara!" John exclaimed.
"You don't understand do you!?" Drew said rudely. "Man, what a bunch of idiots."
"No, I think it's you who don't understand." The pirate said. "There's over five-hundred of us in this building. Do you really think five little lads can beat us?"
"Well..." Drew said. "Actually there's eight of-"
"Yeah!" Brenden said. "We could take you on no problem actually!"
Brenden charged his bo staff and shot it at a group of pirates, stunning them all.
"Drew! Now!" Brenden exclaimed.
"Right!" Drew replied.
Drew shot a flurry of arrows into the air. They struck the pirates, killing some and wounding others.
"See?" Brenden mocked. "No problem."
"Rrgh!" The pirate grunted. "Get over here!"
The heavily geared pirate grabbed Brenden and slashed his arm. Brenden charged up his staff, put it against the pirate's chest, and shot him across the room with a blast of electricity. Brenden fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Anna said.
"Not really..." Brenden silently said, trying to be happy. "Could be better... heh heh."
Anna healed Brenden and Seth, Drew and Frank stayed in the back, and John, Tara and Scarlett fought pirates.
"Second in command!" A pirate said. "We've lost 'bout fifty! What should we do?"
"Rrrgh!" The heavily armored pirate said. "Get the captain! Tell him to use the button!"
The pirate nodded and headed up the stairs. He contacted their captain and they both went downstairs to where Brenden and the others were.
"Those lads?" The captain asked. "They're the ones who have been doin' this?"
"Yes sir, but don't underestimate them!" The pirate said. "They've prolly killed 'bout a hundred by now!"
"Hmm." The captain said. "EVERYONE STOP!"
Everyone stopped fighting and looked at the captain. The captain pulled out a button and showed it to Brenden, John, Tara, Seth, Scarlett, Anna, Drew, and Frank.
"What is that?" Frank asked.
"This device will activate a bomb that I made hidden inside this building." The captain said. "It has enough explosive power to blow this place up in five minutes after I pressed. We will leave this building and go to a safe zone underneath the dome but you will want to stay."
"What makes you think we'll stay?" Scarlett asked rudely.
"Because, the Golden Meteor is at the VERY top floor of this building." The captain replied.
"You can't do that!" Seth shouted. "That's cheating!"
Seth tried to grab the button out of the captain's hands, but he was stopped by the second in command.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The captain said. "I made it so that the timer automatically starts if the button gets at least a meter away from me or if it is destroyed."
The captain clicked the button, and all the pirates funneled out the door.
"This is impossible!" Drew said. "There's absolutely no way we can run all the way up this sixty story building, grab the Sun Relic piece, and teleport back in FIVE minutes!"
"I have an idea!" Brenden exclaimed. "It's going to have to be set up correctly though!"
"Okay, tell us." Tara said calmly.
"We have to be outside the building for this." Brenden said.
Brenden led everyone and found a good place to start.
"Step one: Drew, make a bubble." Brenden instructed.
"Okay..." Drew said.
Drew shot a bubble arrow and Brenden steadied it.
"Step two: Scarlett, fill the bubble with wind that curves up and John, hold it down so it doesn't fly up just yet." Brenden instructed.
They nodded. Scarlett filled the bubble with wind and John held it down.
"Step three: Seth, get in the bubble." Brenden instructed.
Seth agreed and quickly stepped into the bubble.
"Step four: John, place the bubble on top of my bo staff." Brenden instructed.
John grabbed the bubble and held it down on Arc Thunder.
"Okay, when I say "go", let go of the bubble John." Brenden said. "Seth, once you are high enough land on the roof, break through the roof, snatch the Sun Relic piece, and jump down. Then I'll use the stones to teleport us back."
"That's a lot of steps, but I think I can do it!" Seth exclaimed.
Brenden charged up his bo staff.
"And..." Brenden said. "Go!"
John let go of the bubble. Brenden shot the bubble, popping it. The winds inside the bubble carried Seth to the top of the roof. Seth jumped onto the roof, broke through, grabbed the Sun Relic piece, and jumped back down as instructed.
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Brenden asked.
Everyone nodded, so Brenden pressed his thumb onto the grey stone, teleporting everyone to the training dimension just seconds before the dome blew up. He then pressed his thumb onto the red stone, teleporting them to Green Street.

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