Without his helmet, Brant felt himself destined to the same fate as Aaron, only this time, Wendy was otherwise occupied. Sucking the sword and shield back into his gloves, he paddled to the shimmering water above him. Nearer the shore, he could see Cormorant bathing himself in the clear liquid that was his home, his refreshment, and his healing.

As he struggled to the top, Brant felt his chest tighten. An emptiness grew in his body, one that ironically filled him with pain. His body begged him to breathe just once, and give it some relief. But with tightened lips, he refused. For how long he could continue, he couldn't tell.

He felt ripples in the water beneath him, so he glanced down. A pod of dolphins swarmed down on the dead specimen of their kind that Cormorant had charred with his feet and the raven-ships had ripped into with their guns. They swam in circles around it, until a speckled bull noticed the god who had killed her. He darted upward, and the whole pod followed.

Brant refocused on his current task, survival. He was about ready to give up and submit to his fate. His muscles tired, chest burned, and heart seemed to grow angry at its increased workload. With nothing else to assist him, Brant closed his eyes and prayed.

Immediately, a pair of dolphins from the pod swerved off their intended course, sped for Brant, and bore him up. Once he broke the surface, he gasped in a mouthful of breath and thanked God. Reaching down, he rubbed the dolphins' rubbery backs in gratitude, releasing a shuddering breath as he did so.

As he leapt off onto the beach, he spotted Cormorant, who had just been flung out of the water by an angry dolphin. Its reddened snout opened as it shrieked at him. Meanwhile, he bled out onto the sand.

Brant stared with wonder at the scene before him. Whenever Cormorant attempted a retreat to the water, the dolphins would snap at him, battering him with their hard snouts. But the farther on land he travelled, the easier shots the raven-ships got on him. The dolphins and ravens are banded together again! he remarked inwardly, Well, let's help them out. Time to finish this.

As before, a shield materialized in his left hand. In his right, an axe weighed his arm down. He charged at Cormorant, leaping when he came into range and swinging a heavy blow down. Blood poured when his torn arm dropped from its socket.

Screaming, Cormorant ran toward the water. He waved his remaining hand, attempting to form a wave to push the dolphins back, but they supported one another and created a wall of impenetrable antagonism. Another bullet landed in his leg and grounded him.

Brant ran up and removed Cormorant's second arm. The return swing removed his head and sent it rolling into the water. It soon became mangled as the dolphins lunged at it.

Brant reached for the necklace and ripped it off Cormorant's stub of a neck. The vial of liquid, called the Primordial Mother of Waters, began to glow with demonic power, now that the spirit possessed by it had passed on. He tossed the container into the air, raised his weapon, and shattered it. A fiendish hiss accompanied the clink of breaking glass and the splash of liquid on the ground. After a demon's wail faded into silence, a refreshing silence followed.

Brant stepped to the edge of the beach and dropped to his knees with a sigh. He stroked the nearest dolphin's head, noticing that even they seemed relieved. It was as if despite their animalism, they had sensed the spiritual evil emanating from possessed Cormorant, and now felt a release from his bondage.

After retrieving the dead swordfish and bass pieces littering the sand, he tossed them into the water, smiling slightly as the creatures eagerly set themselves to devouring the meat. They vocalized their gratitude as he turned his back on them and headed to more solid ground.

**********************

Brant wiped his face with a warm washcloth about an hour later and emerged from the Stingray's cramped lavatory. The ship's engine rumbled beneath his feet as they made haste back to their companions in Kemaria. With an entire squadron of Ryder's raven-ships accompanying them, the need for stealth was decreased, so they now used regular fuel and high speeds. Sila had predicted they would arrive in six hours, one of which had passed already.

Brant's face brightened when he encountered Hannah at the end of the hallway. She had removed the darkening makeup from her face, unveiling her youthful innocence once more. They exchanged no words, but her silent grin and the peck she planted on his cheek spoke eloquently enough.

They soon parted, Hannah heading to the lavatory herself and Brant going to visit Aaron. When he came to the room where his sandy-haired companion lay, he realized just how cramped the little room was. Sila stood at his bedside and draped a fourth blanket over the shivering man, while Baird sat on the foot of the bed. He read aloud from the book in his hand, which Brant realized with a glance at the cover, was of his own authorship. Khemera sat cross-legged in the corner, bobbing his head as he listened.

Brant stepped inside quietly and gave Aaron a mild smile upon meeting his eyes. He backed into the wall and stood quietly while Baird finished reading the chapter. How so many engaging paragraphs could be dedicated merely to a man and woman holding hands for the first time proved quite a testament to his writing abilities.

When Aaron nodded at him, Baird closed the book and laid it on the floor. Sila glanced between the two before focusing its gaze on Aaron.

"Rest until tomorrow." the robot commanded.

Aaron smirked. "You think I'll be better by then?"

"Perhaps. We'll see."

Brant leaned forward. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess. Can't seem to keep warm, for one thing." Aaron replied, suddenly shuddering as if to demonstrate, "Breakfast didn't stay with me long either."

Brant grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I'll get over it, I'm sure."

A gentle whir accompanied the turning of Sila's head to eye Baird. "You look pale."

Baird shrugged. "I'd be surprised if I didn't."

The robot held out a banana to him. "Strengthen yourself."

With another jump of his shoulders, he took the yellow fruit, peeled the husk back, and bit into it.

Brant bit his lip and shuffled his feet. "Well, we've all endured some horrible things in the past couple days, but at least now we have a moment to relax."

"Before the big fight." Aaron said.

Baird sat up. "Don't be getting any ideas, guys. The moment we touch down, Khemera and I are going home. And I don't even care at this point whether we have transportation or not. We'll walk, if need be."

Both Brant and Aaron narrowed their eyes at him. "Don't be brash, bud." Aaron began, "You realize why they wanted you back down there in the first place, right? They're surely not gonna give up now, just because you eluded them a second time."

"The phrase 'three strikes and you're out' is likely ringing in their ears now." Brant added.

Baird ran a hand though his hair and stared at the wall blankly. He exhaled a deep sigh. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, but this I do know: I am not pitting myself against Dove, not again. He thrashed us without his powers, and he thrashed us with them even worse. And I have no doubt that 'three strikes and you're out' is ringing even clearer in his ears, now that he'll have all the fighting men of Alconte behind him."

Brant's mouth opened, but no words came to mind. He then shut it and glanced at Aaron, who had closed his eyes.

"Listen, helping you guys is great and all, but I didn't sign up for all this." Baird continued, "I only came to help them calm you down, Aaron so you could help us get Keira and Hannah out of that cackling wretch's clutches. Reluctantly, I stuck around long enough to strike your old swordsman buddy down as well, Brant. And unfortunately, the temple fell apart, and I got taken back down to the Iron Hallway. Now's my chance to escape it all, finally!"

"How, and where?" Aaron questioned, "I get where you're coming from, man. If I was in your shoes, I'm sure I'd feel the exact same way. But we have no vehicle to spare you currently. Walking's foolhardy and almost guaranteed suicide on your part, and hiding's equally risky. So, what can you possibly do?"

Baird had no reply.

After letting the thoughtful silence remain for a minute, Brant cleared his throat. "Men, what will undoubtably be the biggest battle of history is just around the corner. Three days from now, the clash will happen, and like it or not, whoever you are, you will be affected sooner or later. I'm convinced that if we don't make a stand then and there, we ought to forever hold our peace."

"That's suicide!" Baird snapped, "This guy can literally topple buildings with his winds! Sweep people miles away for fun! And what am I in comparison? One guy with a sword and some martial arts skills?"

"And there's where your defeat begins, Baird." Khemera muttered, "You've accepted defeat in your mind already. What hope is there then of victory?"

After a few failed attempts of stuttering a reply, Baird fell silent again.

Brant sighed. "Don't feel pressured, Amergin. I don't want a single unwilling man standing at my side when this all goes down."

"I hope you're not getting the wrong idea, Brant." Baird said as he rose to his feet. "I'm no coward. And I'm no quitter. All I'm saying is, I never began this fight, so it's not my duty to finish it. I value my wife and child more than anything, and I'm not about to just throw myself away for a cause I never signed up for."

Brant nodded. "Family comes before anything to you."

"Exactly."

"Well, that's the interesting thing. I believe the same. And that's the very reason I'm fighting, Baird. I want a family someday, but the state of the world as it stands today is no place for a child to grow, and so I feel I need to do some cleanup work first. And Aaron looks at it much the same way."

Baird shrugged. "When all you've got is the potential mother of said family, your perspective's gonna be different."

"I guess you're right."

Baird stepped toward the door and cast a glance back. "I wish you all the best, guys, but I can't accompany you in good conscience."

As Baird departed, Brant and Aaron slowly nodded. A somber silence descended in the room.

*********************

A/N: If this chapter didn't make you appreciate good ol' dolphins, then you've got a problem. 'Nuff said. 😂 

For real though, if you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to vote and comment, please and thank you. 

Any thoughts on Baird, Aaron, and Brant's little discussion at the end there? 

I guess I'm having another slow brain reboot this morning, because here we are at the random question already. What's the deadliest item in your reach currently? 

(My boxcutter is just out of range of my fingertips if I don't move at all, but I also don't know if I'd consider that deadly. I guess it could be. Anyways, the deadliest thing actually in my grasp is the little nightstand cabinet I built. It's got some very sharp corners, and though it's really heavy for its size, I could theoretically throw it.) 

I feel violent for considering that, but whatever. 

Well, have an awesome day and week! I hope to see you in Saturday's update.