For The Greater Good-World 1: A Corrupted Cove || World//Zero ||

17. Seeking Assistance

[Art by me]

The crab itself took up most of the ship, it was so massive. In fact, at first glance, it didn't even look like a crab at all. With a body that appeared to be dyed pink and eyes that stuck out like a snail's, its shell and claws almost looked like armor. The shell in particular was a deep blue with a bright purple crystal on its back. Long, sharp spikes aligned along the rim of the shell; anyone in their right mind that dared to attack that thing would be mauled by that alone if it weren't for its claws that looked to gore just about anything.

Alec stared at the hulking beast in horror, his eyes practically bulging out of his sockets. He has never seen anything like this before. He was afraid to move. As he continued to stare at the giant crab, a slight cry let out of his throat. "Sean..!"

Sean wasn't smiling anymore, and backed away from the crab slowly, heading to Alec while keeping his gaze on the monster. "D-Don't panic," he stammered. "W-We must've, u-uh...w-woke it up."

"You think?!"

The crab let out a thundering roar, lifting its claws above its head before pounding down, rocking the ship back and forth as its fists broke through the ground. Alec screamed and was about to run, but he stopped when he noticed Sean was staying put. Pulling out his staff, Sean mumbled a spell under his breath before slamming his stick into the ground. Instead of teleporting away, like Alec thought, suddenly huge shards of ice shot out from the ground and pierced the crab's belly, forcing it onto its back. While it threw its limbs around trying to get back up, Sean ran towards Alec, grabbed his hand, and pulled him along towards the edge of the boat. Alec shouted for him to wait, but Sean ignored him as the boys jumped off the ship and tumbled onto the beach. Even though they had sand all over themselves, Sean and Alec got up and ran a couple of feet from the ship.

"Why'd you do that for?!" he shouted.

"I'm saving our lives, that's why!"

"But the ice? You only aggravated it!"

As soon as Alec said that, another roar broke through the sky, causing the boys to skid to a stop and look behind them. Standing in view was the massive crab, who managed to recover from Sean's attack. With another pound of its claws, the crab launched itself off the ship and onto the beach, scurrying towards the boys quickly. Sean and Alec let out a startled scream before running down the shore again.

"We have to get to the Waystone!" Sean exclaimed.

"That doesn't change the fact that a literal giant crab is after us, Sean!"

As the crab was getting closer to them, it nicked at their backs with its pinchers, threatening to grab hold of their spines. Alec's mind went wild; what could this crab want? The horrific thought of the crab shaking the boys' skeletons out of their skin, so it could add their bones to its throne room made him sick to his stomach. Soon, after what seemed like hours of running from the crab, Alec spotted something glowing in the distance.

As the Waystone was getting nearer, Alec felt his soul leap out of his body when he noticed who was standing beside it. It was his mentor. What was he doing here? Alec didn't care. He knew for a fact that as soon as Cal noticed the giant crab, then he would get in tons of trouble. And as soon as he saw his mentor's face go from annoyed to shocked, he knew that it was over.

"Oh my god..." he heard his mentor say as he unsheathed his sword, taking out his shield.

"Cal!" Alec yelled. "We were just—"

"Get behind me, Alec," Cal demanded. Not that the boy had a choice, for as soon as he got close enough to his mentor, Cal grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back himself. As for Sean, he glared at him. "What happened? What did you do this time?"

Sean opened his mouth to retort, but Cal broke him off.

"Nevermind. We need to take this thing back to its ship." Without looking over his shoulder, he told Alec, "Go back into town."

Alec glanced at Sean before back at his mentor. "But—"

"Now!"

With that, Cal and Sean rushed back towards the ship to face the giant crab. Alec, on the other hand, lingered for a moment, hesitating. He didn't know whether to do as Cal asked or to go with them and fight. That crab was far too big for just the two of them. Alec couldn't imagine them winning against that thing. Then again, Alec wouldn't be of any help at all! He was inexperienced and unconfident. Not to mention the obvious... what could someone his size do anyway, he asked himself, feeling doubtful.

While Alec might not be much help with the fight, he knew some way that he could help. As he was about to turn to the Waystone and teleport back into town, he stopped himself when he heard a commotion in the Boarwolf Forest. Maybe he didn't have to go back into town after all. Sucking up his fear of the beasts, he had a steady grip on his sword as he bolted into the woods.

Fortunately enough, the path was clear of boarwolves, but he could still hear their muffled growls through the bushes. That wasn't the only thing he noticed, however, as standing a few feet away were two other adventurers slaying the wild beasts. They both held axes to and fro, and Alec felt a twist in his stomach when he recognized one of them. It was Elliot, and he didn't look too pleased to see him.

The older male looked up from his last kill, eyeing Alec with slight surprise and confusion. Lowering his two axes, he stepped towards the smaller boy. "What are you doing out here, son?" he questioned. "Where's your mentor?"

Ignoring the heated glare coming from the other boy, Alec explained the situation to the berserker. Immediately the older male's brows raised with concern as he looked further ahead along the path. He then stared down at the boy before him. "Didn't your mentor tell you not to frolic about in uncharted territory, boy?" he asked sternly. "Especially in places that are deemed to be inhabited by creatures?"

"Me and my friend," Alec breathed, "we didn't know."

"Ah, of course." The man shook his head. "A child's purpose is causing mischief, I suppose. Come along. Let's assist those unfortunate pupils."

"Wait," Elliot snapped, catching both his mentor's and Alec's attention. With aggression in his voice, he said, "Why should we go and help them? They're the ones that woke the prince in the first place."

"Prince?" Alec repeated.

"The Crab Prince," Elliot answered knowingly. "What? Didn't you know that already? Or are you—"

"That might be the case, Elliot," the older man interrupted with a raised voice. "But we are a people. As such, we shall be there for each other, no matter the risk. Now, are you coming or not?"

Elliot opened his mouth to argue, but close it shut, resisting biting back at his mentor. Holding back a roll of his eyes, he growled under his breath. "Fine."

As Elliot and his mentor started walking out of the forest, Elliot shot Alec a challenging look and snickered under his breath. "Are you coming or what?"

Alec's breath shook before he nodded wearily. He was the one who requested their help in the first place. It would only be nice to return the favor and help out. The defender let out an annoyed exhale from his nose before looking ahead. Alec waited for a few paces before walking behind them. 

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[Word count: 1306 words]