Secrets of an Alchemist

There's Something About Hook Foot: Part 3

(Chapter warnings: combat with fish-people, panic attack, arguing with self)

"Hook Foot, Seraphina!" Rapunzel yelled, dropping down to stand next to them with Varian and Eugene. "Jump!"

"Here you go!" Eugene said, rushing towards the fish-people, arms full of Rapunzel's hair, Varian right behind him. A fish-person threw a trident at the hair, but it shattered, and Eugene used Rapunzel's hair as a battering ram to force the fish-person into the water.

"Run!" Varian called to Hook Foot and Seraphina. The two of them dove into the water together, Hook Foot holding on for dear life as Seraphina sped along in her natural element.

"After them!" Growled a fish-person. The other fish-people lunged forward into the water to comply. Eugene grabbed Varian and Rapunzel and jumped into the water. The three of them quickly climbed back into the boat and took off after Hook Foot and Seraphina. Hook Foot and Seraphina flipped out of the water.

"Let's scram!" Hook Foot yelled, running for it with Seraphina in his arms. Hook Foot ran through an archway of rock, and Lance and Cassandra came running through, towards the fish-people.

"Now this is my kind of date!" Cassandra yelled, raising her sword. With a war cry, Rapunzel, Varian, and Eugene charged the fish-people from behind. Two fish-people charged at Varian, seeing him as the weakest link. He quickly drew his sword, shifted it to staff mode, and swept it in a wide arc, knocking the fish-people off their feet. Then, he swiftly pulled out two goo bombs and stuck them to the ground.

"Okay!" Rapunzel called, fending off a fish-person's trident with her frying pan. "We need to give Seraphina and Hook Foot time to escape!"

"We had half-fish people, now we have full fish people!" Eugene exclaimed, ducking as a fish-person swung its sword. "What kind of anthropomorphic game are you playing?!?" Varian sprinted over and helped Eugene up, as the fish-person in front of him had stopped attacking.

"We are vodniks," it growled in a not-quite-human voice. "And we enforce the laws of the sea!" Varian swung his staff directly at the vodnik's face, but he blocked it and growled.

"Oh boy," Eugene said from behind Varian. Suddenly, a sword flew by and stuck into the sand next to Varian. He glanced over to see Cassandra with no weapon, a vodnik in front of her.

"Eugene!" He called, blocking a swing from his vodnik's trident. "Get that sword to Cass!" Eugene nodded, grabbed the sword, and sprinted over to Cassandra.

"Vodniks!" The lead vodnik yelled. "Step away!" He drew a small blue shell out of his satchel, and tossed it at the group. Somehow, Varian knew exactly what was going to happen when that shell hit the ground. If he was right, that would not be good for him, or any of them. Varian could see the shell hurtling towards them, almost in slow motion. But, he was stuck in slow motion as well, so he couldn't dive away, or even move his staff. Time sped back up to its normal pace as the shell glowed blue and exploded with crackles of lightning. Immediately, a huge growth of pink coral sprouted from where the shell had fallen. Its tendrils quickly wrapped around the entire group, pinning them all in place. The coral wrapped around Varian's body, pinning his arms to his sides. His wrists were forced through holes in the coral that tightened, allowing for no movement. Varian squeezed his eyes shut as his heart sped up and his breaths shortened.

Not again! he thought, panicked. Not now! He weakly struggled against the coral, but it didn't move or even crack at all. The sound of the growing coral distorted around him, until he could only hear the ringing in his ears. He could barely hear the thud of his staff as it hit the ground. You're not in prison, he told himself, trying to calm down. You didn't do anything, they can't put you in prison. Suddenly, the other voice in his head spoke up, the irrational one. King Frederic tried to put you in jail just for asking the Princess for help. Even worse, what if they know what you did? Varian's breaths entered and left his body even faster. He grit his teeth and tried to silence the voice. They can't know, they live under the sea. They can't send me to prison, they can't. I'm fine. Still, his body wouldn't listen to reason, and he could still hear his quick, raspy breaths. Then, a voice broke through the ringing in his ears.