Chapter 14: The Hijack ---------------------- As Sascha and Akfek headed towards Mikail's ship, Akfek briefed Sascha on what would occur when they reached the ship. Succeeding a long day's journey, Sascha and Akfek boarded the ship, Shade with them but cloaked by the force of darkness. "Hello, Mikail, we would like another ride," asserted Akfek. "Errr, thaait would not be a good ideaiii. Ei'll have to passs this one. I got some 'important shipmiieeent' todiiaay." Akfek scanned over the shipment covered by long sheets of blinds. "What type of shipment could this be?" pondered Akfek. Nevertheless, Akfek walked over and attempted to lift the sheets but was restrained from doing so when one of Mikail's men drew a sword and pointed it at Akfek's chest. "Fool, your weapon is a useless commodity," affirmed Akfek with a chilling laugh, "against my powers." Akfek lifted his hands, with his fingers widened and curled up, and chanted a few words quietly; suddenly, a dark gate opened and swallowed the sailor - the gate was called X-Zone. "Your friend here is gone forever," announced Akfek with a sharp, terifying voice. "Any further resistance will be dealt with severely." Akfek continued towards the sheets but this time Mikail drew his sword and lunged towards Akfek. Unfortunately, his trip through the air was shortened when another dark gate opened up directly in front of Mikail and he was swallowed into oblivion. The gate closed and the rest of the sailors trembled with fear. "Fool. His death was inevitable. Haa haa haa ha..." Akfek laughed coldly as he advanced towards the hidden shipment. Akfek lifted the blinds and saw before him Magitek armor - but the Magitek Armor did not contain any magic that Akfek could detect. Akfek meditated upon the machines before him. "Magitek Armor? Where could this have come from?" Then he dropped the blinds. "Where did you get this Magitek Armor from?" asked Akfek sternly, but the sailors remained silent. "I will kill each of you one by one until my question has been answered." Immediately, an old sailor with an a curly grey beard responded, "We do not know where this shipment came from. Our job is to deliver the shipment. The shipment's destination was also unknown. Mikail never tells us the destination until we set sail - this way, nobody can sneak off the ship and report our destination to authorities. But now that he's gone, we'll never know the destination." Akfek did not know if this sailor was decieving him or not so he decided to confirm this statement by asking another member of the crew. He glanced to his left and saw the next victim standing on the shipment. An invisible force surrounded that poor soul and the sailor screamed in agony. "Ahhhhhhh, cut this pain! I can't stand it! Please, stop at once!" The victim's face reflected pain and he continued to scream in agony as sweat poured down his face and his eyes squinted in the most unusual fashion. Akfek smiled as the sailor continued to holler and queried, "Feel the force of darkness, you squealing imbecile. Now, is your friend with the curly grey beard telling the truth? Do not lie to me or you will die a 'very' torturous death." "Yessss, he's telling the truth. I only know as much as he does!" uttered the sailor as the pain continued to flow through him. At once, the torment ended and the helpless man held his neck and gasped for air slowly as he knelt on the shipment. Akfek focused his attention on the man with the curly grey beard again. "You were wise to tell me the truth. Now, who is the assistant to Mikail?" The sailor with the grey beard replied, "My name is Pukcus. I am Mikail's assistant." "Good. I am going to be this ship's captian now. Are there any objections?" inquired Akfek. The crew was dead silent as expressions of terror continued while they were all looking at Akfek. All the time, Sascha was standing there, watching as the events occurred. She knew none of the sailors were a match for Akfek or her, but Akfek did not require assistance - neither did he ask for any, so she stayed as an observer. "I like his style," mused Sascha. Sascha had only heard of the legendary Magitek Armor used by emperor Gestahl. Now they had possession of it, but it was useless without magic. That was a minor problem, though - if the others like Shade were found, there would be plenty of magic for the Magitek Armor. Akfek by now was leaning over the rail of the upper deck. "Excellent. I hope I have gained your fidelity. Pukcus, we will set sail to a location north of the Veldt and west of Triangle island. My friend here, Sascha, is the my assistant. You must all listen to her. Puckus, you'll be my second assistant, but you must listen to Sascha's commands too," asserted Akfek. "Aye aye, captain," responded Pukcus, and they set sail for the forest north of the Veldt. After a few days of sailing south, the ship docked to the north of the forest. Akfek had ordered the crew to remain there until he returned and left Puckus in command of the crew. He then left with Sascha and Shade, who uncloaked after the ship was in the distant horizon. Shade could sense the magical force emitted by the elemental within the forest, and they followed the directions given to them by Shade. As they reached the center of the forest, Akfek could feel the strong magical energy emanating from the new elemental as they approached it. A few minutes later, Sascha could feel it too. Their journey succeeded when Akfek spotted a clear patch of space within the mighty forest and discerned a tree-like figure standing right in the middle of the forest, about the size of a doll. Leaves protruded from its head and two black pointed eyes resided on its face. It had small arms and feet but the overall form of it was somewhat like a mini tree.