"You're sure this is the plan we're going with?" Marcus says skeptically. Melody nods, but she can't admit that she's too fond of it either. She looks over the eight large barrels sitting in the center of the deck, their contents sloshing with the waves. Koji weaves between them, inspecting each barrel one more time.

"It's the best plan we've got," Melody replies flatly. She glances up at Oliver, flying above the ship and watching the riverbank in the rising sun's light. It was a long night, but they finally made it to the Takase River. At Koji's instruction, they started sailing inland, following what he referred to as Orochi's stink.

"Alright, let's go over it one more time," Koji says once he's done with the barrels. "Mel is going to do her magic-y stuff to float the barrels around," He begins, wiggling his fingers at them. "Marcus will do...whatever he does to make them look like people. Then he'll attack, and hopefully, Orochi will start snapping them up like flies."

"Right," Melody confirms.

"Meanwhile, what exactly will you be doing?" Marcus adds with a huff. "You know. To deal with your monster."

"I told you; I'll be watching! Making sure nothing goes wrong!" Koji replies quickly. "I'll be up with Oliver in case Orochi tries to get away."

"So basically, doing nothing." Marcus hisses. Melody sighs, looking out over the river. While she spent the night brainstorming ways to deal with the monster, Marcus was complaining about how little Koji seemed to do in every one of his ideas. While they were arguing, Oliver helped her come up with the current plan, based on the original legend.

"Remember, Orochi's got eight heads," Koji says, leaning on the gunwale next to Melody. "Each head needs to down its own barrel. I don't know if it will work if one doubles down."

"It all goes to the same stomach, right?" Marcus says.

"If you're going to have an attitude all day, just go help Oliver look out for it," Melody snaps. She rubs the drowsiness from her eyes, trying to ignore Marcus's annoyed glare. He takes a few steps back, shapeshifting onto a hawk before shooting into the air. Koji gives a confident wave as he does, letting out the smallest sigh.

"Thanks for that. He's been on my case all night." He says, sitting down on the low rail. "You'd think he doesn't trust me or something."

"He doesn't," Melody replies flatly. "Are you sure there's nothing else we need to know? Nothing you left out?" Koji pauses, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Melody stares back, catching what looks like a nervous twitch, but it's gone before she can call him out on it.

"I mentioned that Orochi has eight tails too, right? And he knows how to use them." He replies with an overexaggerated shrug. "They're like whips the size of trees."

"And you haven't seen any of the other Kami gods in a month?" Melody presses.

"Around that, yeah," Koji confirms. He hangs his head sadly, rubbing his fingers together. "I heard there were attacks, sure, but I didn't know anything big had happened. I just hope we can make it back before..." He pauses again, then flashes a wide grin. "Not that I mind, though. I've always been sort of the outcast. Believe it or not, I'm the first Shinto apprentice that's not Japanese in... probably three generations."

"You're not Japanese?" Melody says curiously. "Then, how did you-?"

"Long story, not worth getting into," He dismisses with a wave. "I'm Canadian, came to Japan to visit family. I'm not the biggest fan of how things work over here, but after I became an apprentice, I kind of had to stay." He shrugs again, a twinkle in his eye. He stands up, flashing his teeth. "Everything in Japan is so uniform, so strict. I prefer things to be a bit wilder." He brushes a lock of her hair from her face with the back of his hand. "Untamed. Not so restricted by rules."

Melody feels her cheeks flush as he leans in, wiggling his eyebrows at her. I-Is he hitting on me, she thinks, steam coming out of her ears. She takes a step back, putting a hand on his shoulder when he leans in to follow. "I really hope you're not doing what I think you're doing," she says, trying to keep her voice even. For over five years, she's thought of nothing but her training and researching the other Pantheons. Boys haven't seriously crossed her mind...probably ever. Not in that way, at least.

"What if I am?" Koji says, placing his hand over hers. He gently guides it off of his shoulder, curling his fingers around hers. Melody scrambles for what she can say, something she can do in response, but her mind goes blank.

"Then you need to stop," Marcus suddenly hisses, placing a heavy hand on Koji's shoulder. Koji winces as he squeezes, quickly sliding away from Melody. Marcus expertly curls around him, putting himself between them. "If you're that relaxed, then take us to the Shinto now. If not, then focus." Melody takes another step back, mushing her cheeks with her fingers. Mental note: get better at talking to boys, she thinks. My face isn't that red, is it? I'm not blushing, am I?

"I-I can't see anything," Oliver says, fluttering to the ground. He doesn't seem to notice Marcus's murderous glares, or Melody's embarrassment, much to her relief. Or, if he does, he's polite enough to not draw attention to it. "Are you sure this is the right way? How far inland do we have to go?"

"Pretty far," Koji confirms, rubbing his shoulder painfully. "But we should be getting close. Orochi is a lot of things, but they're not fast on land. They tend to stick close to the water because they're a good swimmer. Why, are you getting scared?" He teases with a smirk. Oliver whimpers, taking his staff in both hands.

"I-I'm just not the biggest fan of snakes," he says, hanging his head. "Especially monster snakes. The last one I met was...intense."

"Oh? What snake monsters do you Greeks have?" Koji says curiously. "Medusa? Python?" Oliver shakes his head, the colour draining from his face.

"It wasn't a Grecian monster. It was Egyptian." Melody's head perks up, her embarrassment draining away in an instant.

"An Egyptian snake? You don't mean - you didn't...?" Oliver nods solemnly, hugging himself.

"Apophis." He mutters the name like a curse. Melody's mouth falls open, and she stumbles back, bracing herself on the figurehead. Oliver had to face Apophis!? When was this!? She thinks, her pulse rising. I thought I knew everything he went through for the rebellion! What if he freezes up while facing Orochi? If he's afraid of snakes-

Suddenly another realization dawns on her. She whirls around, staring at Marcus in horror. Marcus must be terrified of snakes too, after his punishment! How could I be so stupid!? They can't possibly fight Orochi! She rubs her eyes again, cursing her last few sleepless nights.

"Hey, maybe we should change the plan-" She tries, stepping up to join the group.

"No way, it's a great plan! Guaranteed to work!" Koji says proudly. "My teacher said Orochi's strong, but real dumb. No way it can fail!"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Melody snaps. At the same time, Oliver and Marcus perk up, turning to the front of the boat. Marcus turns back, nods to Oliver, and dashes down the deck. Oliver's shoes start flapping their wings, carrying him slowly upward.

"There's something ahead!" He explains, pointing over the bow with Caduceus. "I think it's Orochi - get ready!" Melody spins around, leaning over the edge of the boat to get a look. Koji joins her, hopping onto the rail to get a better angle.

It's like a creature from a horror movie come to life. Its body is long and slimy. Eight spear-like heads rise from a body as thick as a moving van. The eyes seem to glow in the morning sun, shining as red as blood. As it pulls itself onto the shore, the body splits again into eight long tails easily twice as long as the necks. Its heads twist around curiously, half a dozen tongues flicking back and forth. Its scales are pitch black, with a yellow underbelly. All over its body are white spots, except for the largest head, sprouting from the center of the other seven. It reaches further than the ones around it, with pure white scales and piercing yellow eyes.

"That's him alright," Koji confirms, jumping off the edge. The wind picks up to swirl around his body, and he pulls his wooden sword from its sheath. "I've got to go - i-if they spot me, they'll go on a rampage," He adds before shooting into the sky. Melody watches as he overtakes Oliver, disappearing into the clouds.

"Real heart of gold, that one," Marcus huffs, slapping one of the barrels. "It's now or never - you ready?" Melody nods, hurrying to his side. She closes her eyes as her power builds inside her. Her eyes glow amber, and she carefully taps the top of each barrel. She channels her power into them, and they begin to glow with the same light. Once she's touched all eight, she presses her hands together, weaving her magic into the air. She pictures her magic turning into strings, which snap around the barrels tightly. One by one they float upward, dangling by the invisible threads.

"Your turn," she says, slowly opening her eyes. Marcus nods, his eyes flashing green. The barrels shimmer like a mirage in the desert, then transform into perfect copies of him. Marcus transforms into an eagle, and a few of the barrels change to match. The ones that remain human spawn weapons in their hands.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Melody says nervously, eyeing Orochi's serpentine heads. "I-If you don't think you can handle it, we could always-"

"Don't," Marcus sighs. He closes his eyes, still scarred in his avian form. "I'm not going to let that control the rest of my life. Besides, I doubt I'll be able to see it anyway." Melody's heart drops, and Marcus quickly turns, flying to the head of the pack. "Let's just get this over with." Melody waves her hands to direct the barrels to follow, flicking and twirling the strings to make them fly.

As Marcus surges forward, one of Orochi's heads spots him, letting out a threatening hiss. The other seven heads twist around, locking on their target. The central head shows off its massive fangs, like car-length needles. Marcus screeches in reply, racking his talons across one of its necks. Melody grunts with effort, making the barrels fly around Orochi dangerously close. She hopes that it will be too focused on the first attack to notice the others aren't doing any damage.

Orochi roars and lashes out, whipping its tails around like tentacles. Marcus expertly flies between them, changing back into a human to freefall for a moment before changing into an eagle to slash at it again. Melody pants heavily as she swings the barrels around, trying to get them close to its mouths. More than once a barrel gets smacked to the side by one of its tails, and Melody holds her breath, praying that it isn't smashed.

Marcus soars high into the air, shooting towards the central head. He turns into a bull mid-fall, slamming into its throat horns-first. The other seven heads hiss in anger as their body lurches. They converge on him, and Melody gasps as he disappears into the mass of scales. She feels her throat tighten, and only breathes when a winged lion jumps free from Orochi's grasp.

"Come on, just take the barrels!" She growls, swinging them closer to its head. As Marcus flies away from it, she moves the barrels in behind him. The illusions raise their weapons, and Orochi snarls, snapping at them ferociously. She loses her grip on the first barrel as Orochi crunches it in one of its massive jaws, feeling a swell of pride. One down! She aims the other barrels at the other heads, and the illusions scream with rage.

But Orochi ignores them. The head that swallowed the barrel shakes, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. The other heads start looking around, scanning the river, until one of them spots the boat. It hisses darkly, calling the remaining six heads to follow as it dives for the water.

The creature is gone in an instant, leaving only a dark shape below the surface. Melody's joy turns to horror as the shadow rockets towards the boat, and Orochi launches itself at the ship. It slams into the bow, throwing Melody off her feet. As she scrambles to pick herself up, eight hissing heads slither up from the water, dragging the boat down. Melody releases her hold on the barrels immediately, crawling backward when she starts sliding towards Orochi's open mouths.

"Mel!" Marcus cries, rocketing back to the boat as fast as he can. Melody screams, throwing a ball of fire when one of the heads tries to take a snap at her. The central head roars again, its yellow eyes staring into her soul. Orochi slides further onto the boat, dipping the figurehead underwater. Melody fights to keep her grip, but her feet slip on the deck, and she slides slowly downward.

"O-Over here!" Oliver suddenly calls. Two heads twist towards his voice as half a dozen Oliver clones fly in, smacking it with their staffs. One more hangs overhead, pointing Caduceus at the center head threateningly. The head of the staff glows like a star and fires off a beam of pale light. It slams into the base of two more necks, making both of them shiver and screech in pain.

"Get away from her!" Marcus roars, shifting into an elephant mid-fall. He crashes down like a meteor onto another head's neck. Two more turn to snap at him, but the largest head stays locked on Melody, snapping at her threateningly. She builds her strength as much as she can, her heart in her throat, and tethers herself to the deck with her magic. She tries throwing another fireball, but it just bounces off of the glimmering white scales harmlessly.

"Koji!" Oliver calls desperately, weaving between Orochi's tails as they shoot over the deck. He splits into three, but two of them shatter in an instant as a pair of tails find their mark. "Koji, help us!" He pleads, looking into the sky. Koji flies overhead, watching the battle.

"Get down here!" Marcus adds, having turned into a gorilla to wrestle with one of the heads. A clone springs off of him in human form, driving a dagger into another head's eye. Melody looks up desperately, using all of her strength to keep the central head at bay. She conjures a magical net, pushing it against Orochi to keep it away from her. The white head hisses at her, its fangs slipping through the gaps in her magic and stabbing the deck next to her legs.

"I-I can't!" Koji whimpers, his eyes wide. He looks down at Melody, tears rolling down his face. His hands tremble, and he looks like he's about to throw up. Melody growls as Orochi slithers further onto the deck, dragging half of the boat into the river with it.

"You coward!" Marcus roars, throwing one of the heads back. As the boat shifts, Melody's concentration breaks, and Orochi lunges forward. The center head rears back, and Melody feels dread fill her chest. The treaty, she thinks in her last moments. I need to give it to one of them-

"Get down!" Oliver screams, his arms over his head. He throws himself at Orochi, bouncing off of one of its fangs. Melody sees a splatter of red on Orochi's jaw as it jerks to the side, its eyes rolling back. Oliver crashes to the deck with a sickening thump, skidding towards the water. His clones disappear in an instant, and another head quickly moves in to finish the job.

"No!" Koji screams, throwing his hands over his ears. His voice echoes on the wind, and the sky darkens. The river starts to churn violently. Orochi's remaining six heads recoil back, eyes wide, and lock onto him above. Thick drops of rain begin to fall, and lightning flashes overhead. Orochi hisses at the sky, then suddenly stops, looking down at itself. Long stalks of seaweed and blades of grass grow out of the water, tangling around its body.

As Orochi is forced back, Marcus dives onto the deck, scooping Oliver onto his shoulder. The boat shakes violently in the waves, and he charges up the deck, grabbing Melody as well. The clouds above swirl around, bubbling downward until they touch the ground. A twister rips the cloth from the mast, sucking water back into the air from the river. Orochi hisses and snarls as it retreats back into the water, disappearing below the surface.

"Hang on!" Marcus yells, still in gorilla form. He holds Oliver and Melody to his chest, vaulting off the side of the boat as it floats out of the water. Carried by the tornado, it flies high into the air, and Melody squeezes her eyes shut, holding onto Marcus's fur as tightly as she can.

Lightning flashes and thunder cracks overhead. Melody buries her face in Marcus's chest as the raindrops turn into hail pellets. One hits her shoulder like a cannonball, and Marcus turns, grunting with pain as dozens strike his back. They fly into the air, carried higher by the wind. Melody peeks out from Marcus's arm, throwing her hand out. She reaches for the ground with her magic, picturing a rope connecting her and the grass. They stop rising as soon as it connects, and she starts to pull, dragging them back down.

Koji screams above them again, and all at once, the storm clears. The hail stops, the wind dies down, and the clouds recede over the horizon. Marcus suddenly shifts in the air as Melody drags them down, and he grabs her head in his massive fist.

"Marcus-!" She screams as the ground rushes towards them. Then, with a painful crash, everything goes black.