Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War) ❯ The Seventh Infantry ( Chapter 4 )

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Le Maree Della Guerra (Tides of War)

By: Melissa Norvell

Movement 4: Seventh Infantry

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“I did have a sniper rifle, but it fell into the coral pit,” that moment ripped through her senses with vivid clarity. Percuss did not even have time to think before she was nearly sucked into a sharpened pit of busted coral waiting to dig itself into her flesh.

Ketzel took interest in her answer. “Can you use a sword?”

Percuss blinked a little, “I never tried.” All of her life, she had used nothing but guns and laser equipment. Using hand held weapons like swords, machetes, and knives was a foreign concept to her.

“It's nothing you can learn in a few minutes, anyway,” the shark waved in dismissal. Ketzel didn't know what kind of assassin had no swordsmanship skills. It was ridiculous not to know how to use a weapon such as the blade. Then again, he had to remind himself that not everyone was brought up learning swordsmanship.

“She should be fine if she stays here with us.” There was no way that Angla was going to let anyone touch his new friend.

The swordfish could feel beads of sweat run down her forehead. “You make me sound so weak.”

She had just got finished telling them about her profession. It didn't cross her mind that they would think that she needed to be protected. Maybe they were just being overly cautious, but still it made her feel a sense of weakness that she couldn't help but be a little offended by.

“Damn, there's more of them than I remembered.” The sounds of multiple canons firing caught the Orca King's attention, as he looked over the side of the ship at the massive conglomeration of armies below. Even in the last war, he hadn't remembered there being as many ground troops as there was this time around. The Deep Sea must have been building their troops while Nautica sat peacefully and unaware of what was about to happen. How long had they planned this strike?

“They just keep coming,” Ketzel commented from his position beside of him.

“Accord is somewhere down there,” Oro's blue eyes scanned through the masses, trying to pinpoint that shark, but they could find no traces of him.

“We won't know where if we can't be down there,” Angla knew they had better chances down below than above if they wanted to seek out the general. Perhaps someone on the ground would give them information on Accord's location.

Suddenly, the whole ship was bathed in a luminescent, yellow glow. Everyone turned to see that the source came from a massive manta ray, charging itself for a lightening attack. Oro shouted for everyone to watch out as Ketzel asked what the glow was.

Just then, the large fish swam by them at top speed and launched an electrical attack so big that it covered the entire ship. They could hear someone command it to fire the attack, riding on top of the manta ray. It appeared to be an albino shark, dressed in all white.

“Let's get out of here!” Angla shouted as bolts of electricity sounded loudly in his ears. Wood splintered and flew up around him. He held up his hands, covering his face to protect him from flying debris.

Oro grabbed Ketzel around the waist and leapt from the ship. Isatsu instructed everyone to abandon ship as he hooked one arm around Angla's waist and the other around Percuss. The two swam off as a loud explosion sounded behind them, launching pieces of the shattered ship everywhere as they descended to the bottom. The Orca King asked the two if they were alright as his dress shoes sunk into the malleable ground and sat them down gently. When the Shark King landed, he merely dropped Ketzel on his face.

“Hey!” The shark protested.

“Be happy I saved you,” Oro said simply. Some people were so ungrateful.

“It wouldn't be any skin off my nose if you left him,” Isatsu smirked.

“You big, blubber ass-“ Ketzel cut himself off as he pulled himself from the ground with an irritated expression.

“We're on a battlefield now,” Oro reminded the other shark of their location as he took the barbell from his back and held it out in a defensive position. There was no time for arguing when they were about to be attacked by a bunch of Deep Sea troops.

Angla took out his scythe and spun it in a circle before jabbing the end of it into the ground. Determination painted on his face. “Stay behind me, Percuss.”

The swordfish nodded and stepped behind him. Right now, she would have to count on the anglerfish to help her, even if she didn't want to.

Ketzel walk over to her left and held out his sword, “we won't let anyone attack you.” If Angla couldn't cover the assassin, he was going to be the one to help fend off enemies.

A malicious, toothy smile crossed the orca's face as his voice took on a sinister and playful tone. “Time to have some fun,” spinning around, he extended his hand with fingers stretched skyward. Long, black nails grew, breaking through the tips of his black gloves and jutting out several feet. Their length rivaled that of a sword's blade. With a flick of the wrist, a thunderous boom sounded that shook the ground and a wave of unseen, powerful energy belted out in all areas. It had such force that it knocked back all of the soldiers in a mile's radius.

“What in the-“a soldier watched as his comrades were knocked off of their feet, and their vehicles and tank overturned. Shock and terror raced across his visage as he turned to run. “Run away!” His shouts were soon lost against a torrent of screams as he felt himself become weightless, caught up in a maelstrom of carnage.

Percuss stared with wide eyes at the orca. His attack was impressive. “Amazing! Is that all physical strength?” She's never seen something like that in all of her life. Isatsu was able to take out so many people with almost no effort.

Was this the power of a Sea King?

“Isatsu is the strongest of the Sea Kings. No one in the sea can match him,” Angla educated the assassin on just what kind of person the killer whale was. Out of everyone in the royal court, he was the impenetrable tank that could deal a great amount of damage to his foes.

One of the soldiers charged at Oro from behind. The scarred up shark turned around to make a move, but before he could utilize his weapon he felt the bar of his weapon leave his hands. Eyes widening, he looked to the one who had taken it in disbelief.

“What are you-?”

“Oh no you don't,” Percuss jumped over the Shark King as he watched on, helpless to react.

With all of her strength, she swung the massive weapon. It made contact with the soldier as it hit his head with a sickening crack. She followed through as the end of the weapon smashed his head into the ground; blood was launched through the waster as his skull crushed against the two objects. His headless body rolled over at the Shark King's feet as she landed a few feet away. The barbell fell awkwardly to the ground as the blood-soaked sphere dug into the silky sand.

Realizing what she had done, she turned to look at the others. Isatsu was amused by her actions, and everyone else simply stared in shock. The swordfish looked at the weapon, splattered with blood then gazed back to her team mates and felt a sense of guilt rush over her. “I didn't mean to rip it out of your hands like that. I just grabbed the closest thing I saw.” Closing her eyes, she handed Oro his weapon and sighed. What was she thinking? She wasn't.

`She reacted on a split second,' Angla thought, `impressive.'

“That was pretty cool,” Ketzel smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

“You think so?” Percuss blinked and held her hands to her chest. She was expecting to get chewed out, but instead she was being complimented. It wasn't as if she was complaining, though. In fact, she was happy about it.

“I know so! You kicked so much ass right there!” Those were pretty sweet moves, and Ketzel couldn't help but compliment her. Originally, he doubted the work she could do as an assassin, but now he was intrigued by her. Percuss was definitely good.

“I have a habit of acting before I think. Thanks come naturally for me.” Due to her training, the sword fish was programmed to act on a moment's notice and attack those closest to her that were posing a threat to her.

“That was interesting,” Oro smiled, running his tongue across his pale gray lips as he tasted the splattered blood of the fallen.

“Um…thanks?” Percuss was unsure of what to think about that compliment considering the action taken afterward. However, she was happy that the Shark King had been impressed with her.

“Perhaps you could be of more use than I previously thought,” Oro saw more than enough potential in the girl. He could use someone like her in Nautica's forces. Every little bit helped them at this point.

“Huh?” Ketzel looked at him with a confused look.

“Angla, do you think she could be in your infantry?” Oro shifted his gaze to the anglerfish, who looked thoughtful.

“You mean that all-girl's squad?” Percuss knew where this was going and she felt uneasy about the mention of that special unit. No way did she want to be part of some Sea King's perverted harem fantasy.

“Yes, they are my girls,” Angla responded as he placed his hands on his hips, “and I would have to give her an initiation test first.” It was enough to see that she was capable of defending herself in the war, but was it just a moment of brilliance or did Percuss have true talent? That was what the initiation test would prove.

`I don't know about being stuck in some guy's fighting harem. It doesn't sound fun to me.' Percuss was uneasy. Many thoughts went through her head and none of them fancied her in the slightest. She couldn't help but keep thinking about how she'd be made to wear some skimpy uniform for Angla's perverted interests.

“For now, we should scan the area and see if we can find out where Accord is,” Oro didn't want to get them side-tracked with minor details. Right now, they had a mission to accomplish.

“Right,” Angla nodded and grabbed Percuss by the forearm. “You're coming with Ketzel and I. We'll scout out the area, then there's something special I want to do for you.”

The swordfish gave her friend a skeptical look. `I've got to have the worst luck being stuck with this pervert. I'd rather be with Lord Oro.' There was no getting around it, so she sighed and agreed, “Right.”

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Inside of the Northern Capitol, Cyra and Orzo stood in the spacious Sea King Meeting Hall. The both of them watched the warring fish below through a window that covered the entire wall. Cyra looked on with worried red eyes. She desperately searched for any trace of her beloved child among the chaos and carnage.

“Will Angla be alright?” She asked the king as she turned to him.

Orzo nodded as he placed his hands behind his back, “Angla will be fine.”

“How did the crowd take the news?” Cyra was worried about the other denizens. For many of them, it was their first war.

“I can't say they took it well, but they're acting accordingly. Some of them have never been in war before. Some of them just want to hide,” Orzo could only imagine what his people were doing, and held a great deal of worry for all of them. He hoped that they were all getting somewhere safe, and that there were minimal losses. Just telling them about what was going on was bad enough, knowing he could do nothing to help them made him feel worse.

“This is my first war as well. I feel bad hanging back here, but I can't really do much against the Deep Sea forces. I'm just not that strong alone.” Compared to the mighty Sea Kings, Cyra didn't have a chance at all. In fact, physically she was just like any denizen in the sea. Her magical powers were limited and she would have been overpowered easily. She looked down, ashamed of her weaknesses.

“I should be out there. I've seen this war before, but at the same time, I must protect the capitol from being infiltrated and you as well,” he looked to his beautiful wife. If anything were to happen to her, Orzo could never forgive himself.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Orzo and Cyra turned to see who it was.

“Yes?”

“It's me, Uranus,” a deep, feminine voice was muffled behind the driftwood and gold doors.

“Come in, Uranus,” Orzo turned to face the female as she walked into sight.

In walked an albatross. She wore a business suit composed of a short, white shirt, a button up jacket with white cufflinks, black heels and white, thigh-high stockings. A plume of feathers that covered her breasts was around her neck. Her long hair was pulled back in a high-set, poofy ponytail that hung to one side and long, chin-length bangs that covered half of her face. She wore dark eye shadow and vibrant, red lipstick. Behind her flowed a long, white tail of feathers and she carried a staff in her hands as if it was a precious artifact.

She walked up to the king, holding it out before him. Its polished metal surface dazzled him. “You instructed me to fetch this for you?” She questioned.

“Yes,” the king took the weapon from her and admired it for a moment. At the top of the golden staff was a large crescent that resembled the moon and inside of the negative space was a red sphere that shone with the radiance of a ruby.

He turned and handed it to the angler fish beside of him. Cyra looked at the staff, then back up at him. She wondered why he had handed her such a beautifully polished weapon. “What is this?”

“This will be your new weapon. I had Symphony design you a magical weapon that's easy for you to handle, but can still be efficient in warding off enemies. Should you be by yourself, this will help you get out of a spot or two of trouble,” Orzo knew that there might come a time when he and his wife would be separated. Giving her something that would help her put him at ease. More than anything, he wanted to protect those he loved most. Orzo didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have his wife by his side.

Cyra smiled up at him, “thank you, King Orzo.”

“Think nothing of it. Your safety means more to me than anything else,” the narwhal smiled at her. He felt a little safer now. Even if the action was small, it was one less thing he had to worry about during the war.

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Angla, Ketzel and Percuss walked towards the Northern Capitol. They managed to take a path that was far away from the warring soldiers. Every once in a while they would find the body of a wounded or dead soldier, but other than that they had no confrontations. It was enough for them to blast through the armies like they had and get to a safe place.

Now, they just had a straight shot to the capitol. They just hoped they could get there without being detected by the Deep Sea forces. After they had advanced for a while and the capitol was in clear view, they were intercepted by Isatsu and Oro. Then they stopped upon running up to the two males.

“You made it back,” Angla was relieved.

“Did you think we wouldn't?” Isatsu was amused that the angler fish thought so negatively about them. Honestly, he didn't give them enough credit.

“I'm just glad that you did,” right now, they didn't need any more causalities than they were already experiencing.

“Is everyone back?” Oro's eyes scanned over their small group.

“I haven't seen Symphony since our meeting. We went different ways afterwards.” Angla was a little worried about his friend. He hoped that the rock hopper penguin was alright out there.

“She's probably with Sea King Orzo,” Isatsu didn't think much of it. All of the Sea Kings reported back to the Northern Capitol, so more than likely they would see the penguin later. Symphony was more than likely just caught up in some affair in the war. That's how things usually were.

“Maybe,” Angla wasn't quite convinced of that.

“Are you going to see the Seventh Infantry?” Oro asked as he looked to the two women.

“Your squad,” Percuss wasn't happy about being reminded of that.

“Yes, you should come and meet them,” Angla was insistent about her involvement in his little fighting harem.

“Meet them?” That wasn't what she wanted at all. She wasn't ready to see scantily clad sea creatures who probably acted girly beyond belief. Percuss felt like she had descended into a nightmare.

“That's what I said. If you're going to fight in this war, I need to see your skills. You're an assassin. I want to see what you're capable of,” Angla wasn't just going to induct her as a member because she showed off a few good moves on the battle field. If Percuss thought that she was that lucky, she was dead wrong.

“You were impressive on the battlefield,” Oro added, “I believe you have Seventh Infantry potential.”

“If you get into the Seventh Infantry, then you're good. Only the best females in all of Nautica attend.” If she was to get in there, she'd be among the brightest, strongest and most experienced female fighters in the entire sea. Isatsu wondered if she truly possessed that kind of talent.

Percuss turned her sights to the Fish King, “in order to get in, I have to fight you, right?”

“Of course,” Angla nodded, “It's my infantry, so it's only natural that I get to be the judge of whether or not you get in. Plus, I wanted you to meet everyone. They are a lot like you and they will also be a deciding factor of whether or not you get in. I require the approval of my peers. I want everyone to get along and work as a team. I have…strict requirements.” The Fish King wasn't going to go easy on her. Percuss not only had to prove that she had what it took as far as skills, but she had to prove that she could get along with his already existing ladies. Angla's team was fully functional with minimal quarrels and he liked to keep it that way.

“So, I have to be judged in a fight by your peers?” That's what the assassin got out of that explanation.

“What's wrong? Can't handle it?” Isatsu teased her with his characteristic smirk. The orca was known for always having that smile that made someone want to forcefully knock it off of his face. It only fueled Percuss' irritation. She didn't like it being assumed that she wasn't good enough to be in some pervert's team of women.

“I think I can handle it just fine.” She leveled the orca with the strongest appearance she could. No matter how much of an asshole he was, Isatsu was a powerful Sea King. `I hope,' her thoughts momentarily berated her. “I can do it. I'll go and meet your Seventh Infantry.”

“Great,” Angla was more than happy that she was cooperative. He couldn't wait to introduce her to his girls.

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Outside of the castle, in an open field that resembled a football stadium, the members of the Seventh Infantry stood. The team was composed of seven members of fighting women. Each was skilled in magic or had amazing physical strength and all of them were beautiful in their own ways. It wasn't anything like what Percuss thought that it would be. She was expecting a bunch of harem girls with sexy bodies, but these girls were dressed for war.

Angla and Percuss stood before the group of chattering woman. They were excited to see their king return and wondered who the girl was at his side.

“This is the Seventh Infantry,” Angla held out his hand, as if displaying the group of girls.

“It's…not very big,” Percuss thought that it would have been like a normal troop but this was anything but.

One of the members of the group approached the two of them. She was a narwhal that looked like a princess. Her hair was short, in a bob cut and she wore a crop top with short, poofy sleeves. She wore a gold belt shaped like the letter v with a blue gem in the center and a long, ruffled, layered skirt that went to the ground. In the center was a long, rectangular piece of fabric bordered in gold with a white silhouette of a narwhal in the center.

Whoever she was, she looked really important. “It's not very old, either. There are few members,” the blue-eyed whale told her in a somewhat cheery voice.

“Hey, it's a start, right?” The raspy, tough tone of a lion fish was heard. Percuss shifted her eyes to see the other female. She was tall and had hair that was composed of poisonous spikes. This girl had more of an athletic frame and wore a headband. Her hair covered one eye and curved, spiking out at the ends. She wore a one piece outfit that was white with no straps and poofy legs. Black gloves with white trim and black, heeled boots adorned her feet.

“It's not that I'm downing it or anything,” the sword fish was quick to cover herself. “I just, thought it would be bigger,” Percuss didn't want to sound ungrateful or even worse insulting, but her words weren't getting out the right way.

“As I've said, only the best are included into this army and I have high standards.” If Percuss thought that she there were tons of denizens in that army, then she was wrong. When Angla said only the best, he meant it.

“So, you have a new recruit?” At the end of the group, isolated by themselves, stood a lonely, emotionless coconut octopus that stood out from the other girls. At first glance she looked completely androgynous with an extremely pale complexion. Percuss was perplexed by her voice, that could essentially either be male or female.

The octopus wore a red color scheme, with gold and white accents. Her clothing consisted of a long, Victorian-style coat trimmed in gold with two sets of buttons going down the chest. A white sash was tied around her slender waist, and a white, double-tiered cravat tumbled from the high collar of her coat. Jutting from the triangular cut sleeves of her jacket were a series of feather-like white ruffles that consumed her hands and a series of six tentacles, each with a line of white, pearl-looking features down either side and white suction cups flowed behind her. Black pants with boots that had high heels adorned her feet.

The most striking feature, besides her wine-colored hair with straight bangs and an angular cut, and stunning, gold anchor in the center of her cravat was her eyes. They were cold, piercing and brilliant. This octopus had the ability to seem like she was looking at her without even doing so, and her eyes had incredible depth with an array of monochrome red. They almost looked as if they could glow.

“Oh, she's very pretty. What's her name?” Unlike the more quiet coconut octopus, another more extroverted octopus walked up and examined her and her voice was peppy and high-pitched, like an inquisitive child.

Much like her fellow, she had a red and white color scheme, with red, wavy, evenly-cut, shoulder-length hair. Her bangs, which where parted in the middle and the same length as the rest of her hair were streaked in white and the left side of her face covered so that one, large, red, happy eye was uncovered. Her shirt was in the style of a sailor shirt with a large, white bow. The only difference was there the ends of the sleeves were of the same triangular cut, making them look like lily petals. Around the rims, they had embroidery with small holes. The bottom of the shirt was cut in the same fashion and trimmed in white.

She wore a dress with overlapping layers. The first layer was rounded with the same embroidery work, followed by a triangular layer with embroidery that consisted of straight lines and holes, placed evenly in a pattern. She wore white Capri pants with the same flared, flower-shaped ends on the legs. Beneath it she wore the same black, heeled boots as her familiar.

Percuss' guess was that she was also a coconut octopus judging from her tentacles and lone eye, that held the same striking lamination and monochrome red coloration. She wasn't sure if they were actually related or just the same species.

“This is Percuss,” Angla stepped to the side and held his hand out, “she's come here to meet you all and take a little test.” The angler fish shot her a smile. “Isn't that right, Percuss?”

“I guess you could say that,” Percuss agreed half-heartedly.

“You don't sound very excited,” the straight-haired octopus glared her down. What was her problem?

“Should I be?” The sword fish wasn't aware that she should act any certain way around any of them.

“It's insulting not to be.” What kind of person wasn't grateful to be in a prestigious fighting squad? This fish had some nerve.

“I was nominated to be here,” it wasn't like Percuss wanted to join them. If she had, then her feelings on the situation would have been different. Why did this creature feel the need to persecute her over her reactions, anyway?

“Doku, be kinder to her,” Angla told her fellow to calm their bitter attitude. “She's not from around here.”

“It's not like I meant it offensively,” Percuss tried to cover herself. The last thing she wanted was to make an enemy, especially an enemy out of someone who was at the top of Nautica's battle scale. “I mean, all of you must be the elite of the elite if you're here.”

“We are, yes,” Doku shot coldly.

`What's with her? She's so cold and stuck up.' Did everyone in the Seventh Infantry have such an awful attitude? This octopus was just terrible. Nothing Percuss could say even made her happy. It didn't help that she never smiled. Doku was as cold as ice.

“Is there something you want?” Doku asked, looking straight into the assassin's eyes.

Before Percuss could say something, the friendlier octopus popped up between them, startling her. “Oh, hi there! Nice to meet you!” She tried her best to give the sword fish her most brilliant smile. `Got to distract them. Yeah! Good tactic, Dokuro!'

“Yeah…” Percuss trailed off, “nice to meet you. I'm Percuss.” She couldn't even keep a tone to her sentence because she could see Doku glaring her down over Dokuro's shoulder.

“I would say welcome to the Seventh Infantry but…that's kind of weird,” Dokuro looked thoughtful for a moment, then gestured to the unfriendly octopus behind her and announced them. “This is Doku! He's my twin brother.”

The assassin just stared absent-mindedly at the unfriendly coconut octopus and it was then that she realized he had no breasts. “Brother?” Her voice nearly squeaked in embarrassment. “You mean…he's a boy?”

“You thought I was a woman?” Now Doku was even more offended than he was before. It was bad enough that most people thought he was a female due to his appearance, but somehow it was an extra kick in the face when this sword fish had done it.

“You look like one,” Percuss unknowingly added insult to injury, “You're very androgynous. You sound androgynous, too.”

“Doku is the only male on this squad,” Saxa informed her. As matter of fact, she probably should have said something before this happened.

“I am only here because of Dokuro,” Doku made sure to make his motives for joining an all-girl's squad clear.

Percuss looked to Angla in shock. She couldn't believe that he had a male member on a supposedly all-girl squad. This put a whole new spin on the way that she viewed him. `This guy is something else. Now I think he's twice the pervert than he was before. Does he like men, women or both?'

“We should introduce ourselves and make Percuss feel more at home,” Dokuro brought up something that she thought would make them closer. It would at least get them to talk to each other.

“This isn't a family reunion,” Doku didn't see the point in getting friendly with someone who wasn't even part of their infantry.

“Dokuuuuu,” his sister pouted.

“Why should I be kind to someone so insufferable?” In no way was he obligated to be hospitable to someone like Percuss, and he didn't plan on entertaining the thought.

“Hey, no need to worry about Doku,” Saxa dismissed. “He's just like that. I'm Saxa, nice to meet ya.”

From behind her stood an oarfish. She wore a similar one-piece to Saxa's, except hers had long, poofy sleeves and a turtle neck. In the middle, she wore a red sash and on her shoulders was armor shaped like crab shells. Her hair was long and white from the stop of her head, two, red antennae stuck out and trailed behind her. She was tall and mature-looking with a long, elegant tail and a ridge of red fin.

“Brunhilde,” she said in a low, monotone voice.

“I'm Nagi,” a friendly, bold voice came from her right. “Let's just hope this won't be the only time we see each other.”

A sea urchin hooked her arm around the assassin's neck. This sea urchin wasn't like Earlkonig. She nearly looked human. She had brown hair what struck up in three large, triangular points with two behind them. A streak of yellow was parted and curved up around the outermost spikes and one long, strand of yellow hair hung between her eyes. In the middle of her head was a small bow and on the sides of her head were short, curved tendrils that framed her face. She wore the same crab shell shoulder armor, complete with a breast plate that had the symbol of a fish in the middle. On her forearms were poofy arm warmers and beneath her armor she wore a sleeveless, turtle-necked dress that was long and flowing.

It was a strange choice of battle attire, but Percuss learned not to question anything with Doku around to scrutinize her every move.

“I'm Rin,” an albino dolphin with a quiet voice introduced herself. She wore brown, lace-up boots that went to her knees, a short, tight, black skirt and a light brown, oversized, turtle-neck sweater. Her hair was cut into a hime cut with even bangs and tendrils that framed her expressionless face. Behind her, her white tail drug across the sand of the ocean floor.

“A white dolphin?” Percuss questioned, cocking her head. “Usually, you don't live out here. Predators would eat you quickly.” Seeing an albino of anything was rare in general, but an albino dolphin was especially rare.

“When you're in the wild, you learn to rely on protection or you learn to become strong,” Rin noted, “I have learned to become strong. I will defeat all that stands in my way, predators and those who oppose me in war.” Even though her red eyes were mostly emotionless, there was a glimmer of something within them, a certain spark that caught her attention.

Percuss couldn't help but smile. `I like her style.' The swordfish felt like, out of everyone there, she could be closest to Rin. “You seem like my kind of denizens.”

“We shall see about that,” of course, Doku has something to say about that.

Percuss wasn't sure who was worse, this guy or the orca.

“I am Ora,” the gentle voice of the narwhal bled through, “blood daughter of King Orzo.”

`Blood daughter? So…she's the daughter of the Great Sea King? I somehow didn't expect her to be a warrior.' The assassin was amazed that she saw Orzo's daughter there, even more so that she was among the more skilled warriors in Nautica. “I didn't expect you to be in this army.”

“Most people wouldn't,” Ora admitted. “They usually think that I am like my sister, Otsune.”

“Otsune?” Percuss thought that maybe Otsune was another narwhal.

“Otsune is my sister,” Angla clarified, “however; she'd rather be a princess than a warrior. She's a little frail and stays in the castle. She guards a very important device that's integral to the kingdom.”

“What's that?” Now, Percuss was interested. What on earth could the angler fishes' sister be guarding that was so important?

“You didn't notice that there is a vast amount of light down here?” Doku asked her the question as if she was stupid. Then again, it was very noticeable. Nautica had a source of brilliant light that acted as a sun. “When you're this deep in the ocean, no light can penetrate the depths. Usually, we live in darkness down here. But, we've found a way to utilize a source of light and deal with our darkness. The dinoflagellate organisms are bioluminescent. If you gather enough of them, they contain the power of a `sun' if you can call it that.

“The dinoflagellates, living in a world confined in a sphere, are our main source of light. They live harmoniously with us in their own civilization. We care for them and they provide us with light.”

Whoever came up with something like that was a genius. Percuss was impressed with the intelligence of someone that could figure out a way to harness the natural light of living creatures and gather them together. “That's amazing,” she smiled. “Who came up with that idea?”

“I did,” Doku remarked.

The swordfish felt her mind stop in its tracks. Not only was the octopus haughty and aloof, he was a smarter than she could ever imagine. “What?”

“I am a coconut octopus. I'm bioluminescent, myself.” In fact, Doku and Dokuro were the only bioluminescent species of octopus that was known of existing.

“He's pretty cool,” Saxa commented, “he and Dokuro can glow in the dark. They make good night lights.”

“I can read in the dark as well,” Doku added.

“Yes,” his sister happily agreed, “our irises glow and we can see really well in the dark that way.”

“We have our ways of adapting,” Doku agreed.

Now it made sense as to why their eyes shimmered in the way that they did. Percuss found them fascinating.

“Now that we've gotten to know each other, I think it's time we started our initiation process.” Angla wanted to get the preliminary over with. Who knew what other duties he would have to attend to in the war?

“Oh, this is going to be fun to watch,” Ketzel rubbed his hands together as he smiled devilishly. “Nothing like seeing two women get rough on the field.”

He could see it now, grunts, yells and calls of passion as they fiercely went at each other, bodies that glistened with sweat and the dirt of the sea, clinging to their tight forms. It was more than he could bear to think about without going into a fit of blissful convulsions.

Most of all, picturing Angla like that sent chills of satisfaction up his spine.

A small smile crossed Doku's visage as he shifted his eyes to the assassin. “If you don't mind, could you let me have the first fight? I'd like to see what she's got.”

Those words felt like the grim reaper, slowly carving her name into a tombstone and preparing her grave for her. Percuss visibly flinched. “Geck!” Her vision shifted to the octopus, who held no hint of worry or anxiety. In fact, he looked rather smug and confident. That smile made him seem all the more creepy. `Aw man, he probably wants to kill me.'

Doku and she already got off on the wrong foot. He was going to enjoy taking her out and he had extra fuel to burn his passion from their earlier interactions.

This was bad.

Angla looked to the girls, as if taking a consensus. “Do any of you mind if Doku starts off the initiation?”

“Oh man!” Dokuro whined, “I wanted to fight her first. Doku's just going to defeat her easily.”

Those words made Percuss feel even worse.

“You have no faith in me at all.”

“We'll see,” Angla seemed skeptical and that put some ease on her heart. “Remember, this isn't a match based on killing.”

That was good. At least Doku wouldn't slaughter her…not literally, anyway.

Saxa put an arm behind her head and closed one eye with a confident smile. “Go hand her dorsal fin to her, Doku.”

Great, she was cheering on the octopus, too. Percuss was clearly the underdog in this match.

“This will be interesting,” Rin commented as she took a seat in one of the stands of bleachers.

“I want to see what she can do,” Nagi was excited as she took her seat beside of the dolphin.

Brunhilde sat to the left of Rin and silently watched everyone below with inquisitive, blood-colored eyes.

“I hope you don't get too intimidated. Doku is a great alchemist.” Cupping the side of her mouth, Nagi shouted the information down to Percuss. “Next to Symphony, Nautica has no better sage.”

“S-Sage?” Percuss stuttered out the word as a new sense of horror overcame her. The fact that this octopus was a sage was terrifying. Before her stood an important man - a man who transversed magic and wisdom, someone who was beyond their years in knowledge and in that moment, it made sense as to why he was smart enough to come up with a source of light for the kingdom. “I can't fight a sage. I don't have that kind of power.”

This battle was unfair. Percuss had no chance of winning.

“That just means that I can lay waste to you quicker and you're of no use to this army.” What kind of soldier was she? Doku was a little disgusted that she wasn't eagerly awaiting the challenge with baited breath. What a sad soul she was.

At this point, Percuss was sick of being insulted by the girly-looking octopus. “You're pretty proud of your skills for someone who is part of a girls' army. You sure do hold yourself high.” She didn't even care if she made fun of him for it at this point. Doku deserved her anger and more.

It earned her a harsh glare and strong words. “Watch your mouth,” Doku hissed in vexation.

“You don't look like such a hard fight.” That's what she was going to tell herself to make herself feel better, anyway.

“I wouldn't underestimate him if I was you,” his sister held up a gloved finger, trying to warn her.

“I'll snap you in half like a mollusk,” the sage threatened her.

“What?” Percuss questioned before a beam of neon blue belted her in the abdomen, searing her flesh as it knocked her off of her feet and catapulted her backwards. She felt weightless against the currents as she crashed into branches of red coral. The assassin felt it crunching and breaking around her, stabbing into her skin as pieces dispersed into the air.

“I am more than capable of handling my problems on my own,” the sage held out his hand. He glared her down with those piercing eyes, amplifying the fact that he was a serious competitor and not to be made light of.

“I need a weapon,” Percuss groaned from her position on the ground, lying among the splintered pieces of coral.

Standing up in the stands, Ketzel shouted and waved his sword. “Here! Use this!” Drawing his arm back, he threw the blade through the water. It spiraled for a few moments until the sword fish stood up and caught it, thanking him. “It's not fun if you don't have a chance,” he smiled.

“The rules of the fight are easy,” Doku announced as he held out his arms and concentrated his energy. Soon, neon green parameters were established by the shape of a huge rectangle that engulfed the stadium and expanded a few feet past it. “If you stay down for more than fifteen seconds then you lose. If you fly beyond these magical lines, you lose.”

“How can that be fair?” Percuss shot. “Why can't someone else establish the lines?” She didn't like that he was making all of the rules of the battle. It was like the field was tailored to his specifications and it gave him the advantage.

“These are standard parameters for a battle field,” Doku educated. He wasn't making things unfair, it was regular protocol.

“Doku sets all of our battles to be honest,” Saxa noted. “He knows what he's doing.”

“What will happen if I touch the lines?” After all, they were made with his magic. Knowing her luck, if her body touched them, she'd get fried.

“I'll leave that to you to find out,” Doku wasn't going to say anything more than he wanted to about the situation. Some things were better left to the imagination.

The assassin walked over to the sage and stared him down with a serious visage. “What happens after this fight?”

Smiling a little, red eyes shifted to the angler fish. “Then you fight the Fish King.”

“If I beat you or do I have to beat you in order to fight her.” If she had to beat the sage in order to get to the Fish King, then this fight was definitely impossible. Percuss knew that there was no way she could even think about beating this beautiful octopus.

“Who said anything about beating me?” Doku asked. Did she really think she had a chance? How cute. He would make sure to wreck all chances she thought about having after he was done with her.

“Let's get on with the show. I'm interested to see what you do. I haven't seen you fight yet, assassin girl.” Ketzel called from the stands. He was growing impatient with all of the idle chit chat. He hoped that someone would be able to knock the crap out of that asshole octopus.

`Oh boy, I can't read this guy at all.' No matter how much she tried, Percuss could see no flaws in Doku. There was no feeling in his eyes; he just stared at her like a placid, yet creepy doll.

“Do you think we should have started her out easier?” Percuss could hear Rin ask in the stands.

“That's why I wanted to fight her. I'm new too, and I'm not as strong as Doku. I hope he doesn't hurt her too badly.” Dokuro was genuinely worried and the swordfish couldn't help but let that sink into her. She was worried now, no thanks to the other members of the Seventh Infantry.

Still, the octopus stood there, motionless.

It was beginning to irritate her.

“If you won't start,” she pulled out the sword that Ketzel had given her, “then I'll have to start myself.”

…To Be Continued