Andee the Aquanaut

Chapter One The Black Sea Flashes of lightning penetrated below the surface of an oceanic world. Non-terrestrial intelligence appeared in the distance, growing in size as they approached, whizzing past in flickers of light, laser fire flares crisscrossing the deep. Monstrous cries vibrated from the jaws of giant prehistoric sharks. Aquanauts and dolphinoids fired on them. “There, that sea cave ahead.” Andee pointed. “It must be an entrance to the Black Sea! Dorphieus, we have to stop them before they enter!” Zoid, zoid, zoid! Mermen returned fire, traveling inside the great white’s mouths. One by one the mighty sharks swished inside the cave, disappearing in a vortex current. “Come on, after them!” Andee yelled. “We can’t let them get away!” He punched lasers from his fists and streams of electric-blue ignited on a shark. The shark blasted in agony, plunging to a smoky death as mermen and gold spilled from its jaws. The last dorsal fins of a great white snaked into the cave, its roars echoing. A torrent of lasers fired on it, lighting the cave’s interior. Dolphinoids gave chase, entering within. Zadora’s shark swung round to face them, Yolanda held tightly in her grip. Zadora snarled at Andee for having destroyed one of her precious pets. She stamped her trident and bellowed, “Aquaremoness!” A blinding light shot from the shark’s jaws, igniting on the dolphinoids, sending them tumbling out of the cave as an unknown force etched itself over the entrance. “STOP!” Andee shouted, “Nobody go any further. It’s a laser field!” Zadora cackled and her laughter boomed inside the cavernous tunnel. Her shark flicked on its fins, vanishing from sight. Outside the cave, dolphinoids hovered alongside Indee and Andee in stunned silence. Andee clenched his fists and in a fit of rage he went to charge. “No! Andee,” Indee pulled him back. “It’s too dangerous. You saw what happened to the dolphinoids.” “But they’re getting away! Dorphieus, what can we do?” Dorphieus closed his eyes, meditating, channelling Zadora’s dark magic. “This laser field is indeed powerful,” he said. “We must be cautious, Andee. All of you swim back. We have to destroy it from a safe distance, combining our firepower.” They lashed on flippers and fins, swimming away from the cave entrance. “We’re ready, Dorphieus.” Indee and Andee nodded with courage in their eyes. “Brace yourselves. Be prepared for a backlash of force.” Dorphieus raised his fins. “On my count. One, two, three – FIRE!” ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! Jet streams of electric blue shot from the dolphinoids’ fins and Indee and Andee’s fists, exploding onto the force field, igniting a massive underwater explosion. “Shields!” ordered Dorphieus. The dolphinoids were instantly encased in a ghostly barrier. Rugged balls of coral rock slammed into them as if they’d been caught in an asteroid field, the force of the blast sending them tumbling back. Then, it stopped. Slowly, the silt and ash cleared. Andee opened his scrunched up eyes. “It worked! The forcefield, it’s gone!” “Hurrah!” they cheered. “Charge!” commanded Dorphieus. They swarmed inside the sea cave, lighting up jagged coral walls, swimming through to the icy cold Black Sea. Indee suddenly stopped, holding her hands to her head. “What’s the matter, Indee?” Andee asked. “I don’t know. I just had a strange feeling about the others –” “Richard? Our parents?” “Yes, I felt a sharp spike in my senses like something’s happened to them. It’s gone now. I’m not sure –” “Maybe you should make contact with them, Andee,” Dorpheus said. “See if they’re okay. These oceans are no place for mortal humans.” Andee nodded, pulling his dive watch to his chin. “Richard, come in. Richard?” There was no reply. “I hope they’re okay,” said Indee. They hovered in silence among prehistoric plants. A distant roar tremored through the sea. “We’re close,” whispered Andee. “These sea creatures are highly dangerous. I recognize these plants too. Stay vigilant. Come on.” Andee kicked on his flippers. “This way.” A merman soldier stood behind Zadora, Yolanda held tightly in his grip. “My queen, the aquanaut army has penetrated the water shield and is advancing this way. It won’t be long before they reach the castle grounds. What are your orders, your majesty?” Zadora stood proud, her trident held high, watching her beloved sharks lurching onto loading docks, merman soldiers jumping from their mighty jaws, the sharks regurgitating gold bullion, sweat and muscle loading it into awaiting carts. Zadora cackled. “Soon we will be the richest most powerful race on Earth. Now, tell me of the progress of Krackuess and his men.” “They’re breaking through the seabed, destroying the continental shelf as we speak, your majesty.” “Good, good. Soon New York City will be gripped in a watery grave, held captive, deep under hundreds of fathoms. There’ll be no more land, only the oceans I will rule. Commence building the oxygen prisons at once. We will hold captive the important humans for when the time for bargaining is right.” “Yes, my queen. It shall be done. And what of the aquanaut army?” “I have a surprise that will shock them in their path. Go! You have your orders.” “You’ll never get away with this,” Yolanda cried. “Andee will stop you!” Zadora hissed, turning to face her. “You’ve served your purpose well, my girl, luring your foolish friends to their demise. I have no use for you now. Lock her in the water dungeon and throw away the key!” “Yes, my queen. As you command.” The merman bowed, then dragged Yolanda by her heels. “No! No!” Yolanda screamed. Zadora turned her back and closed her eyes, raising her trident to the sky while muttering. Dark clouds rumbled over her head, thunder cracked and a bolt of lightning struck her trident, igniting it with electricity. She continued to chant, harnessing billions of volts. Then she opened her shark eyes wide with hunger, releasing a charge of forked lightning more powerful than a thousand storms. It struck the Black Sea in a blinding flash, pulsing through the currents. She sniggered and then marched away. “What’s that in the distance?” Indee slowed to a stop. The others did the same. Lightning? Under the ocean? Andee stared ahead as it flashed on his cheeks, the Black Sea dancing in flickers of light. “It’s coming closer,” Dorphieus said cautiously. “Can you get thunderstorms underwater?” Indee asked. “Anything’s possible down here.” Andee tried to make sense of the white lights igniting through the sea. His expression changed from curiosity to fear as he saw ghostly outlines of giant serpent heads with glowing red eyes, fangs hanging from their jaws, sparking like subway tracks, billions of volts at their disposal. “It’s not lightning.” Dorphieus raised his fins, pulling his hands inside to fists, “They’re electric eels. This ocean is about to shock us to oblivion!” “Indee!” Andee yelled. “Activate shields now!” “Dolphinoids,” Dorphieus commanded. “Fire at will!” The electric eels hissed, puffing their scales twice the size, spitting cannon balls of lightning plasma that shot through the ocean like fiery comets, shocking through the dolphinoid’s force fields, igniting their bodies and illuminating their skeletons. Dorphieus gritted his teeth in agony. “The electricity – it’s piercing our shields. What, sorcery is this?” A plague of eels squirmed upon them, more appearing from the darkness to join the electrical feast, fangs exposed, pumping volts of magnetising bombs, shocking their prey to the core, the black sea illuminating skeletons in pain. Andee tried to fight back but was too stunned to move a single muscle. He slid his eyes to the right seeing Dorphieus and his men about to be savaged. The eels were ready to feast now their prey was too paralysed to fight back. Indee was unconscious, unable to respond as eels savaged her legs. “Indee! No!” Andee reached out. I have to help her, but I can’t move. Another lightning bolt struck his body, illuminating his bones. He blacked out. “This power is too great,” said Dorphieus. “We must retreat. Pull back! Everyone, pull back!” Amidst the mayhem, a voice whispered its way through the currents, a comforting sound that penetrated Andee’s forcefield directly into his mind. “Andee? Can you hear me, Andee?” Andee left his organic body. His ghostly outline shimmered away from his former self and watched the battle taking place before him. He was unable to help Indee or the dolphinoids. It was clear they were doomed. “Andee, can you hear me?” said the voice again. “I hear you,” Andee replied. “What’s happening to me? Have I died? I need to get back into my body and stop this – Indee is dying! And the others, they’re going to perish too!” “Andee,” the Wise White Dolphin said. “You must retreat NOW! Return to the super sub. You and Indee only have seconds to live! Hold onto Indee. I’m going to use astral Aquanaut powers and transcend you to the sub. Zadora’s magic is too powerful here!” Andee could hear the cries of dolphinoids in agony and Dorphieus shouting for retreat. Indee was floating lifelessly, her eyes closed, eels squirming all over her body. Another ball of plasma was heading towards her. “Now, Andee!” the Wise White Dolphin shouted in his mind. “Take Indee’s hand!” Andee gritted his teeth and using all his might he desperately reached out, locking his fingers into Indee’s hand. A white light engulfed them as he cried out in agony, exploding to nothing.