Air and Sea

Jayden, her adopted sister Emma, her boyfriend Michael, and their friends Jay, Boze, and Rain returned to the luxury cruise ship on their flying hoverboards after an extensive search for Delilah had ended without success.

"All day, and absolutely nothing," Michael complained.

"And now we have a new problem," Boze said.

The others turned toward him.

"Hailey is missing now."

Everyone fell silent. They realized Hailey had likely gotten into trouble and may have crashed somewhere in the woods.

"I'm going to look for her," Rain said, stepping back onto her flying hoverboard.

"I'm coming too," Jay said as he climbed onto his own hoverboard.

The two shot into the sky and disappeared over the trees.

Just then, the Mermaid King surfaced just off the ship's bow.

"Did you find Delilah?" he asked hopefully.

Jayden walked to the railing and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry. We didn't have any luck."

Tears rolled down the old king's weathered cheeks.

"I know she is no longer allowed to remain in my kingdom," he said quietly, "but promise me you'll find her... and take care of her."

"You have my word," Jayden replied.

The Mermaid King gave a grateful nod before slowly sinking beneath the waves.

Meanwhile, elsewhere aboard the luxury cruise ship, the mysterious stranger with snow-white hair sat alone in his room. He wore a crimson suit, white boots, and a golden eye embedded in the center of his forehead. Seated at a table beside a large viewscreen, he casually sipped wine from a crystal glass.

"Oh, how sad, Mustissac," he said with a faint smile.

On the viewscreen, countless ships carrying Card Hunters departed from the harbor while aircraft filled with more hunters lifted off from a nearby airport.

"It takes all that to try to capture a single teenage girl."..." he said with quiet amusement, setting his wine glass on the table.

He leaned back in his chair, smiling as he continued to watch the growing pursuit unfold.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Hailey and Delilah stayed close to the treetops, carefully moving from branch to branch to avoid the Card Collectors and the mind-controlled Card Hunters searching below.

"What is that?" Hailey asked as a distant sound broke the forest's peaceful silence.

Delilah reached into her pocket and pulled out two glowing green stones. She tapped them together, and a pair of binoculars instantly appeared in her hands.

She looked toward the horizon.

"Oh, shoot!" Delilah exclaimed.

"What is it?" Hailey asked.

"Numerous planes are heading this way."

Without another word, Delilah grabbed Hailey's arm.

"Come on!"

The two girls hurried through the trees as the sound of aircraft engines steadily grew louder.

Meanwhile, aboard the luxury cruise ship, the mysterious stranger entered the bridge.

"Sir, we have a problem," said Crochet, the stranger's loyal bodyguard.

The stranger smiled.

"Crochet, you know I don't like problems."

"Sir, we have enemy vessels approaching from the twelve o'clock and three o'clock positions."

The stranger's smile never faded.

"You know what to do, Crochet. And tell the crew not to fire until the enemy is within range."

"Yes, sir."

Crochet immediately began relaying the orders while the stranger calmly folded his hands behind his back. His golden third eye glowed faintly as he gazed through the bridge windows.

He already knew exactly what was about to happen.

As Delilah and Hailey came within visual range of the luxury cruise ship, they began hearing explosions echo across the sea.

Delilah quickly raised her magical binoculars and looked toward the ship.

"Oh no..."

Two battleships had taken positions alongside the luxury cruise ship, their cannons roaring as they fired volley after volley at the approaching boats filled with Card Hunters.

Smoke rolled across the water as shells exploded among the attacking vessels.

Then another sound reached them.

The loud roar of airplane engines.

Delilah spun around.

"They're behind us!"

Several aircraft were rapidly closing in over the forest.

"Move!"

The girls climbed down from the trees as quickly as they could. The moment their feet touched the ground, they broke into a full sprint toward the shoreline, hoping to reach the cruise ship before the Card Hunters or the aircraft caught up with them.

Delilah and Hailey burst from the trees and reached the shoreline just as the roar of airplane engines grew even louder behind them.

Delilah glanced over her shoulder, then looked at Hailey with a determined smile.

"I think it's time to do some house cleaning."

Hailey smiled and nodded.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

The two girls closed their eyes.

The glowing green magic stones in Delilah's pocket pulsed with emerald light, while the enchanted bracelet on Hailey's wrist shone just as brightly. 

In a flash of magic, a pair of frog suits appeared in their hands.

A brilliant column of green-white light surrounded each girl. Wind swirled around them as the magic took hold, and within moments they emerged wearing sleek, specially enchanted frog suits.

The magical suits fit like a second skin and were designed for underwater travel, allowing their wearers to breathe freely beneath the waves and remain submerged for as long as they wished.

As the aircraft thundered overhead, Delilah and Hailey exchanged one final grin before charging into the sea.

Meanwhile on the bridge the stranger knew Delilah and Hailey had entered the water and knew something was fixing to happen. “Crochet full reverse and tell the battle ships to stand down,” said the stranger with a smile as if he knew what was fixing to transpire. Crochet had a strange look on his face but followed the stranger’s instructions.

Beneath the surface of the sea, Hailey and Delilah positioned themselves near the approaching enemy fleet.

Delilah reached out and took Hailey's hand.

"Ready?" she asked.

Hailey nodded.

"Ready."

The two girls closed their eyes.

Almost instantly, Delilah's glowing green stones and Hailey's enchanted bracelet radiated brilliant emerald light, surrounding them in shimmering magic.

Above the ocean, the clear blue sky suddenly darkened.

Black storm clouds rolled in with unnatural speed. Lightning flashed across the heavens as powerful winds began to howl, churning the once-calm sea into towering waves.

Without warning, a massive waterspout descended from the clouds and connected with the ocean below.

Like a gigantic vacuum, the swirling column of water began pulling in everything around it.

Enemy boats were lifted from the sea one by one, spinning helplessly through the air. Aircraft flying overhead were caught in the powerful vortex, their pilots desperately trying to escape before being swallowed by the raging waterspout.

The Card Hunters panicked.

"Turn around!"

"Get us out of here!"

But there was nowhere to run.

One by one, every enemy ship and aircraft vanished into the roaring funnel.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the waterspout lifted into the sky.

The storm clouds dissolved.

The lightning ceased.

The wind fell silent.

Within moments, the ocean was calm once again, as though nothing had happened.

The luxury cruise ship slowly approached.

As Hailey and Delilah surfaced, Boze and Michael leaned over the railing and helped the exhausted girls aboard.

The instant they collapsed onto the deck, their enchanted frog suits shimmered and disappeared.

Both girls lay on their backs, breathing heavily as they struggled to regain their strength.

A few moments later, Rain and Jay landed nearby on their flying hoverboards.

"Is everyone okay?" Jay shouted as he rushed toward the group.

"We're fine," Jayden answered.

"Oh my God, we were so worried," Rain said, wrapping Jayden in a relieved hug.

"One minute we saw the luxury cruise ship and the battleships suddenly start backing away," Jay said, still trying to process what he had witnessed. "Then a waterspout appeared out of nowhere."

Everyone turned toward Hailey and Delilah.

The two girls remained on the deck with their eyes closed, their breathing gradually slowing as they recovered from the tremendous amount of magic they had just used.

It was obvious whose magic had created the storm.

But one question remained.

How had the crews aboard the luxury cruise ship and the accompanying battleships known to reverse course just moments before the waterspout appeared?

The mysterious stranger sat comfortably in his private room, laughing quietly as he watched the viewscreen before him.

On the screen, Mustissac stood over a table, repeatedly slamming his fists against it in frustration.

"How remarkable," the stranger said with an amused smile as he lifted his wine glass. "You sent an entire army... and still couldn't capture a single teenage girl."

He took another sip of wine.

A moment later, Crochet entered the room.

"Sir, everyone is safely aboard, including Delilah," Crochet reported. "We also have the Teleportation Card.”

"Very good, Crochet," the stranger replied, setting his glass on the table. "Take us back to port."

"Yes, sir."

Crochet turned to leave.

"Oh, and Crochet..."

The bodyguard stopped and looked back.

"Don't rush back to port. I think this calls for a Hawaiian-themed celebration."

A rare smile spread across Crochet's face.

"At once, sir.”

After Crochet departed, the stranger turned his attention back to the viewscreen.

Mustissac was still pounding the table in a furious rage.

The stranger chuckled softly.

"For someone who claims to control everything," he murmured, "you certainly don't handle defeat very well."

Still smiling, he relaxed into his chair and continued watching Mustissac's tantrum as though it were the evening's entertainment.