Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War) ❯ And The Traitor Is… ( Chapter 12 )

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Le Maree Della Guerra (Tides of War)

By: Revamp

Movement 12: And The Traitor Is…

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A loud noise sounded through the meeting room as the doors burst open with such force that they nearly flew off of their hinges. Everyone's attention was directed at the noise as a smiling orca was revealed on the other side with his foot in the air.

“Surprise bitches!” Isatsu sing-songed. “Did you miss me?”

“Did you have to do that?” Oro questioned with an unamused expression. There was no need to go busting in, scaring everyone like that. Then again, Isatsu never knew how to make a proper entrance anyway.

“It's time to make you all eat every word you tried to feed me,” Isatsu strolled in with that same, trademark smirk plastered to his face. Now that he knew what he had, he couldn't wait to shove in their faces. That's what they got for trying to pin him as a traitor.

“What's the meaning of this?” Orzo wasn't sure what the orca knew, but it had better be good to make an entrance like that.

“I know who the traitor is!” Isatsu announced his findings with pride.

“What?” Oro was caught off guard by his words, even more so that someone else was revealed and it wasn't him. Then again, could he really trust the orca's words? Maybe he was still trying to cover up his misdeeds.

“Do you have proof?” Orzo was keeping his word. He didn't want someone to be wrongly accused. He needed cold, hard evidence that someone had betrayed them.

“Yes,” Isatsu had more than proof. He had eyewitness accounts.

“Tell us,” Oro demanded to know what the orca knew.

Isatsu walked to them, standing proudly as he closed his eyes and held a finger in the air. “First, you can get on your knees and apologize to me for your false accusations.” No way in hell was he going to tell them otherwise. If they wanted their precious information, they were going to have to beg him for it.

“I'd rather die,” Oro frowned. Of course Isatsu would try to worm something out of him like that. He was never going to bow before him, or any orca in general.

Isatsu's features darkened into something more malicious as he folded his fingers. “That can be arranged.”

“Please, Orca King,” Orzo closed his eyes. There didn't need to be any dying or further brutalizing. He just wanted the important information he sought. This was a serious matter and he would appreciate it if the orca handled this a little more seriously.

“It's one of the Sea Kings,” Isatsu teased them with the information, leaking it out slowly.

“Who?” Oro asked.

“Beat King Symphony,” the words ran off of his mouth like tar, emitting a look of shock from the other two in the room. The thought of someone like that betraying them brought dread to the other two sea creatures.

“How can that be? She and Princess Angla are childhood friends.” Surely, there must have been some kind of mistake. Now, more than ever, Oro was more suspicious than anything. Would Isatsu really go so low as to accuse someone like her?

“It's sweet that you think bonds can't shatter, but even blood ties can sever. Blood isn't always thicker than water.” That was something that Isatsu knew from personal experience.

“Coming from someone who murdered their family,” Oro's eyes narrowed. Of course someone like Isatsu knew about how brittle that kind of thing could be.

“So, you do have emotions. I didn't think you were evolved enough to feel them,” Isatsu put a hand to his chest, mocking being touched by the shark's words.

“Where's the proof that Symphony betrayed us?” Otsune really wanted to know. To her, Symphony didn't seem like that kind of person at all. She had always dearly loved her sister and she seemed like she really cared about the kingdom as well. It was out of nowhere that this revelation came about and the brunt force of it felt like a baseball bat to the face.

“Moegi and Angla know,” the orca explained himself further by providing witnesses to her debaucherous affair. If they chose not to believe him, they would soon know the full force of his words when the two of them returned.

“What do we do?” Oro tensed up and glanced towards the Sea King. Wave after wave of tension and shock assaulted him, and he felt his blood run cold. The Orca King was telling the truth, not only that but the traitor had been right under their noses this entire time, attending their meetings and obtaining knowledge from them only to relay it back to the Deep Sea.

“Does she…know that we know?” Cyra wondered if Symphony still had a clue that they had found out. Maybe they could be a step ahead of her if she was unaware.

“Nope,” Isatsu replied simply.

“Why are you so happy about this? This isn't funny,” Oro was just about sick of that orca's smug face. He wanted to go over and punch him so hard his smile was hurled into the stratosphere. It was like this was all some sort of sick joke to him.

“But, it's amusing. The looks on your faces are priceless.” Isatsu pointed mockingly at all of them. Why not act like it's a joke? They treated him like shit. They were only getting what they deserved as far as he was concerned.

“This isn't a game, King Isatsu” Orzo finally spoke up in a stern voice. His typical, stone-faced expression was in place. “If what you say is true, then we're in danger.” There was no time to roll around in victory at the thought of proving them all wrong and clearing his name. They had more important issues to tackle, like dealing with someone who posed a huge threat to Nautica.

“She's gone to all of the meetings. She's been telling our every move to the enemy,” Oro pointed out the fact that she'd been sucking information from them all of this time. Who knew what hall the Deep Sea knew about them? It wasn't a wonder that they snuck in, knowing all of this.

“So what?” Isatsu shrugged. He didn't see the big deal behind it. Even if she knew things, it wasn't like they couldn't change their plan of action and null anything she thought she was ahead on. To him, it was an easy remedy.

“What do you mean so what? We have to completely strategize all over again,” to someone like Oro who was a strategist, it was a very big deal. It would take time to develop a new plan. Even so, lives were going to be senselessly lost in the process. There was a lot at stake.

“Let her believe we don't know she's a traitor,” Isatsu thought it was a perfect plan. Symphony would go around thinking that she could just plow through them like nothing, as if she knew everything and was unaware that they were changing things beneath her nose. Then, they would spring into action with their new plan and defeat her with ease. It sounded like a good enough plan to him.

“What? But why?” Cyra didn't see the point of those words. Why would they continue to lose lives and resources just to let her believe they were oblivious to her nefarious deeds?

“She'll think she has the upper hand. It'll be humiliating when she gets a fast one pulled on her.” Hit her hard and out of nowhere, like she had done to them. It was only fair in Isatsu's eyes. He wanted to show that penguin that they were done playing around.

“You mean, we still invite her to the meetings?” Otsune looked a little bewildered at how a plan like that was going to work.

“Not real ones,” the orca closed one eye and gave her a sly smile.

“We don't have time to play with her like a toy,” Oro didn't want any part of whatever Isatsu was trying to get at. Not that it mattered; it seemed like more work than anything else anyhow.

“I do,” the orca argued the fact.

“You should have been an executioner,” the shark thought Isatsu would have been good at the job. He had the bloodlust and love of murder and carnage to kill people. Then, at least, he would be killing those who deserved it rather than killing innocent denizens.

“Not for this place,” the orca waved in dismissal, “too many rules I have to abide by. I want to be as cruel as I can.” It wasn't like he wouldn't be good at it; he just wanted to be as unrestrained as possible. If the orca was going to murder denizens who had committed heinous crimes it was only right to give them back what they've done in spades.

“We should wait until Angla returns. Where is she, anyway?” Cyra was worried for her daughter. She could only hope that she hadn't run into Symphony.

“She's with that puny shark, Moegi. They were going to gather information with Doku,” Isatsu gave away their general location. He let the queen know that she wasn't alone out there.

“We'll wait until they return,” Orzo closed his eyes and tilted his head down. He could only hope that nothing bad was to befall his adopted daughter out there. He trusted her with someone like Doku, but the worry was always in the back of his mind.

“Why didn't you go with her to protect her?” Oro was aware that he wanted to just shove the truth down their throats, but he didn't understand why he couldn't at least stop by and see if Angla was alright.

“She's a marvelous fighter. Besides, I think she and Doku can handle it.” Isatsu wasn't too worried about her. The two of them could give someone like Symphony a run for her money if they ran into her. That was one thing that he was sure of.

“Symphony is-“ Oro tried to argue the fact, but he was cut off.

“I know, the best alchemist, but I'm not worried. I have faith in their abilities.” Isatsu had seen and witnessed both of them fighting. He knew at least part of their abilities, and he was sure that they were strong enough to take Symphony.

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Soldiers came at them from every angle, increasing in number and density as the anglerfish princess and her faithful sage made their way through the bodies. Angla swung her scythe, cutting through flesh, armor and clothing as she trudged ahead. Blood sprayed around her as corpses fell to the ground in defeat, staining the ocean floor with their blood.

Doku summoned ice spires and held out his arms as he commanded the natural weapons from the ground. They shot up, sending ocean silt with them as they hit many of the soldiers, sending them to the ground. Several others were caught in their path, being skewered on their dangerous points. Blood ran down the ice in thick streams as the octopus admired his work with a stone cold expression.

“I can't believe we ran into soldiers,” Moegi called out from behind him. This was just their luck!

“We'll have to make the best of it,” Doku knew that there was nothing else that they could do. He held out his hand and an intricate magic circle appeared, blasting oncoming soldiers with radiant, blue light. The force of the magic knocked them off of their feet and several screams were heard as they fell.

Angla swiftly decapitated one of the soldiers with her scythe, then spun around as another soldier came at her back and swung her weapon with all of her might, slicing the enemy down the middle. The two halves separated as blood and organs spilled out onto the ground in a sloppy mess.

“We've got to bet back to the castle,” Angla turned to her comrades before she heard Moegi scream.

“Ack! Help!” The shark struggled as one of the soldiers grabbed her by the tail. He drew his sword back, ready to slice it off. Moegi's eyes widened in shock and fright before a maroon-colored tentacle wrapped around the soldier's wrist and ceased his action.

“What's this?” The soldier questioned and jerked his head towards the source of the wayward appendage.

“Die,” Doku's word was cold as he wrapped several of his tentacles around the male. Slowly, he began to pull on his appendages with his tentacles and listened to man's screams of pain as his bones popped out of place. Sheer anguish radiated from his being as his clothing the flesh ripped. Blood clouded the water and in the midst of it, the octopus held several pieces of what the man used to be. This allowed the shark to swim free.

“Thank you…Doku…” Moegi simply stared at the sage's brutality. It was nice that she had him on her side, but that was a little extreme for the situation. Then again, she was happy that he was so strong. She definitely never wanted to make him mad.

Doku dropped the dismembered limbs and instructed that they go. Moegi swam after him as the two took off, headed towards the castle. During their run, the little shark managed to get ahead of him and swam up the pathway they had taken to get to the abandoned part of Nautica.

Just then, she ran into something solid. The force in which she hit the object sent her reeling back a little before widened eyes realized just whom she'd run into.

“Symphony!”

The traitor turned around slowly to reveal herself. The same unchanging visage and the same cold eyes with red sclera looked down on her. Symphony uttered her name.

“Why?” Moegi's words were barely audible as she cast a look of pity to her now enemy. It was the same thing that the entire kingdom had wondered.

“Why what?” Symphony's response was apathetic. She didn't have time to bother with such trite inquiries.

“I know what you did,” Moegi let her know that she couldn't play dumb with her.

“I really don't care.” They were going to find out regardless. The fact that she was able to fool them this long had surely been a feat on its own, and she had no plans on coming back to the castle regardless. This made things easier for her. Now, there was nothing to hide.

“I don't understand. Don't you love Nautica?” As long as she was there, the little shark was determined to find out something. She wanted answers, both for herself and Angla.

“I'm a penguin. I could care less.” It was no business of hers. In fact, what went on in the sea for the most part was no business of hers. Penguins only hunted and swam there, and nothing else. Why should she have been bothered with them all in the first place?

It was pointless.

“But Angla-“

“Just one more fish to fry,” Symphony's words reached the shark just as Doku stepped into view.

“Moegi,” he had been trying to find her since she swam so far ahead. It was a good thing that he had, considering what she'd found.

“Master Sage,” Symphony made her presence known.

“Scum bag,” Doku was quick to counter her with a cold tone and a stare that could kill someone by glance alone.

“What are you staring at?” It seemed that was his best ability. Ever since she'd known him, that octopus was able to stare through the hardest of hearts. His red eyes were just as cold as his unmoving body.

“Someone beneath me. I don't understand. Fake. Traitor. Deplorable,” Doku was going to let her have everything he thought about her. Sharp teeth were bore like a stray dog, ready to put up a fight with every ounce of tenacity that it had.

“If you thought I was good, think again. You all mean nothing to me,” Symphony's words held a victorious edge to them. Who knew she could devastate so many denizens and fill them with such hatred and sorrow? It was more than satisfying.

“How dare you,” a third voice cut in, and the penguin glanced over to see a blood-splattered Angla running into view.

“Be gone, worthless trash,” Symphony had even less time for that princess. If Angla knew what was good for her, she'd walk away right now.

“Worthless?” Angla's grasp on her scythe clenched even tighter as she shook with sorrow and outrage. “Fuck you! I'm not worthless! I helped you! I did everything for you. I even made you into a Sea King when you're not even royalty. You're the one who's worthless! You're nothing but a traitor!” She couldn't hold back the well of emotions that bubbled inside of her. Angla shouted and put her hand to her chest. This penguin was supposed to be her childhood friend. What happened between them? Was everything that took place between them as young ones fake as well?

No.

She refused to believe that.

Something was very wrong.

Symphony got in the princess' face, staring her dead in the eyes. “Traitor? I'll be happy where I am. I want nothing more than to be at Accord's side.” If nothing else would give this stupid fish the hint, then those words were sure to jar her.

“Get out of my face, or I'll move you,” Angla stood her ground and leveled her once friend with an angry glare. She wasn't going to get pushed around by someone like her.

However, that was her fatal mistake. A sharp pain resonated in her stomach as she felt her flesh rip and tear. A popping noise was heard as red eyes looked down to see her white clothing being stained with blood. Symphony had rammed a sword from a fallen soldier into her.

“If you think I'm going to move for a worthless piece of trash like you, think again,” Symphony held no remorse for her actions. She didn't care who she had to sacrifice, as long as Accord's dreams came to be realized. After all, the two of them were enemies now and one of them would succumb to natural selection. It was all a matter of time.

“Princess Angla!” Moegi exclaimed and tried to swim over to diffuse the situation. However, she felt a tentacle slither around her mid section and hold her in place. The sticky appendage held strong to her no matter how hard she tried to swim. “Doku!”

“This is her fight,” the octopus never let his sights drop from what was transpiring between the two females. His face remained stock still, never once showing any emotion.

“But-“ Moegi tried to protest, but was cut off.

“She would want it this way.” That was something that Doku was sure of.

Angla swung her fist, punching the traitor so hard that her head jolted back. Symphony stayed in that position for a few minutes before she moved her head back and smiled, cruelty dripped from her expression like turpentine. Then, as soon as she had appeared she was gone in a simple teleportation spell.

“Where are you? Coward!” Angla glanced around and held her stomach as rich, red blood ran over her arm. She soon found the answer as she felt an elbow dig into her back, propelling her forward.

“Right here, you idiotic fish,” Symphony berated her as she stumbled around like a drunkard. She was trying desperately to get her footing.

Swiftly, Angla turned around and stabbed Symphony in the stomach with her scythe. The curved blade stuck from her back. The anglerfish panted as she leaned into her weapon. Wide, reddened eyes gazed at her, shocked that she had that much gusto. The penguin could feel blood welling up in her mouth from her injury and spit it in Angla's face. “Do you think this will make us friends again?”

“You made your decision. Would you not do the same to me?” Angla glared at her and made no move to wipe the blood from her face.

“I'll give you the most violent death of all.” Intent dripped from her blood-stained lips as Symphony felt her body jolt again from another stab of the scythe. Blood stuck to her black and white clothing as another wound seeped. She laughed, for the first time in a long time. In fact, she laughed so hard she choked on her blood and threw herself into a coughing fit. “What's wrong? Do you feel sorry?” She taunted. She had a little pain in her voice from the damage she'd taken, which only added to her insanity.

“Yeah, I am,” Angla's bangs shaded her eyes as she frowned. “I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to do any of this. You don't look like you wanted it either. You're in pain and you're sad.” There was no denying it. This had to make the penguin feel remorse in some sort of way.

She wanted to believe this with all of her heart.

“I don't care about them and they don't care about me. They can all fuck off.” Honestly, Symphony felt nothing, even in this moment. If Angla was looking for something resembling emotions, she would get none. This moment was calculated for months, if not a year solid. It was plenty of time to kill off whatever emotion she'd felt in the past.

“If that's what you think, you're the dumbest thing in this sea,” Angla jerked her weapon from her ex-friend's body. “You're deaf, blind and mute.”

“Why don't you kill me?” Symphony kept taunting her. If she wanted to, she could have done it in that moment. Instead, she only managed to give her a pretty bad wound. Her pity was truly something laughable.

“Because if I tried, you'd use your magic or you'd banish me. It would make things too easy for her,” Angla knew what she was trying to do. More than anyone, she knew her friend's capabilities more than most everyone. She wasn't stupid.

“You want me to let you suffer? No matter. You know I could kill you. I'm just letting you win.” It was just as planned.

“Why?” Was that what Symphony was doing? Angla was suspicious of her now.

“So Accord could get away,” the penguin smirked.

“Oh no!” Moegi wiggled around more in Doku's grasp, thrashing for a moment until the octopus told her to just wait. “She betrayed everyone…” Her voice was sad as she tilted her snout down.

“I am the color of death. The warrior of darkness,” Symphony held her blood-covered hand up, as if giving herself some sort of mentally unstable introduction.

“You're full of shit,” Angla countered and darted towards her, but Symphony was faster. The princess gasped as she felt nails in her throat. Symphony had her in a choke hold and squeezed hard, restricting the water circulating through her body. In a panic, she brought her leg around, trying to kick Symphony in the face. She made a direct hit, but the enemy still held on, threatening to strangle her to death. “Doku! Help!”

“Now isn't the time,” Doku was intent on staying out of it for now.

“What?!” The princess was shocked. Why the hell wasn't he going to aid her? That's what he was there for! Was he just going to let her die? Was he in on this as well? So many thoughts ran through her mind as it reeled to fight back.

“I can't. The time isn't right,” the sage was still standing there, holding the shark tightly in his tentacles.

“Are you kidding me? She's going to kill me,” Angla was practically begging him to do something at this point. He couldn't just let her die! He couldn't just betray her as well…Could he?

“No,” Doku still clung to his words.

With another swift kick, Angla managed to hit Symphony in the face with such force that the penguin finally released her. She stumbled backwards and struggled to keep her footing as the anglerfish held her afflicted neck and panted in order to regain her breath. “What am I supposed to do?” The breathy words flowed from her lips as she glanced to the sage, looking for some sort of help.

“You'll see.”

“Wait…” Angla's face lit up. “You know what she's going to do?”

“I have an idea. It's a hunch,” Doku was nearly sure of it.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Angla was hit with Symphony's elbow again. It was a harsh blow to her chest as she fell backwards. Her back brushed against the ground and her weapon was knocked from her hand. The last thing she saw was Symphony disappearing into a cloud of darkness before her gaze was met with the blue of the ocean above.

“She left,” Doku pointed out the very thing he knew would happen. If Symphony really had been prolonging things so Accord could get away, then she was going to retreat when she thought he was back out of harm's way. That meant that she didn't intend on killing them.

Angla slowly sat up, and glanced down as she rubbed her chest. “That…really hurt…”

“She'll heal herself, I'm sure,” Symphony wasn't going to just walk around with those injuries. Doku knew she was far from stupid, even if she was a traitor.

Angla slowly stood up, holding her still injured stomach. Red eyes glanced to the spot where she had stabbed her in the stomach twice. There was still a small cloud of blood and a spot that stained the sand where Symphony had received her injuries. The princess tore her gaze away and spoke with a subdued voice. “I guess we should get back to the castle. I won't look at my friend's blood spilled on the ground like this.”

Doku finally released Moegi, his tentacle uncurled and dropped to his side as the shark swam frantically to her princess to check on her.

“You're bleeding!” Her voice was definitely worried. Doku needed to do something quickly or her princess would become anemic and unfit for anything, much less a war.

“I can heal it later. You're not hurt, are you?” Angla was more worried about her friend than her own well being.

“No…Doku saved me,” Moegi chided her worries as the sage walked over and helped the princess stand. Angla said nothing, but she didn't have to. Her facial expression said it all. She was miserable and in pain both physical and emotional. Angla felt like she lost everything.

“Do you want to be alone?” Doku asked, holding her arm to help steady her.

Angla silently shook her head.

“I can restore you if you'd like.” The fact that Angla's blood was heavy in his senses really bothered him. Doku didn't want to leave her injured for too long. If she kept on like this, then she'd trigger both curious predators and Deep Sea soldiers. He wanted neither.

“I'm fine,” Angla dismissed his offer. “I just don't want to move.”

“You can be complacent at the capitol,” Doku didn't want to stay where they were. It might hurt her to move right now, but she could rest in her bed instead of leaning against her weapon when they returned. That was undoubtedly better for her than what she was doing right now.

“She hates me,” Angla couldn't hold back. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed out her words. The princess shook with sorrow as her emotions flowed like water that was once held back in a crumbling dam. All this time, she had tried so hard to be strong, to hold back what she felt for the sake of being strong and she no longer could keep up that façade.

Doku patted her back gingerly. “Let it out. Very terrible things have happened.” He knew how broken she must have been right now, and he wanted to be there for her as much as he possibly could. More than anything, Angla needed him now.

“I have to kill her now.” It was something she didn't want. Something she wouldn't have dreamed of in a thousand years. Angla didn't want it to come to this. She didn't want to slay her friend.

“I don't know what she's thinking,” Symphony made a very stupid move. Doku was more than disappointed. He was thoroughly disgusted by the rock hopper penguin. He would make her pay for making Angla cry like this.

“She knew who he was…and she still fell in love with him? Why?” It didn't make sense to Moegi. How could she have gotten into a relationship with someone despite knowing how infamous they were? Why would she just allow it to happen without thinking for a minute just how wrong it was? Did she not care at all?

“Don't do anything rash,” Doku knew that right now, Angla was just running on emotions. He wanted her to clear her head before thinking of an appropriate plan of action.

The emotional princess picked up the weapon that she had once been using as a support and held it high above her head. Doku backed up as she let out a feral scream and stabbed it viciously into the ground, marring the earth below her. Panting, she spoke through gritted, sharp teeth.

“I won't…”

“Don't hurt yourself more than you already are.” Moving like that was sure to make her stab wounds worse. Doku didn't want her to be in more pain. He just wanted her to rest.

“I can't stand it anymore,” Angla couldn't stop crying. No matter what she did, the anglerfish couldn't kill the incredible emotional pain she felt bursting within her.

“Does fate say you should give up now?” Doku knew the answer to that question. He wondered if she did. He knew that she did regardless. He just wanted to hear her say it. He wanted his princess to have some pride and confidence in herself at such a dark time.

“No, I'll die with honor,” Angla knew that he had to be one of them who faced death. At her current state, she couldn't hope to beat someone as talented and powerful as her ex-friend. In the end, it would be her who died. She knew that Symphony was holding back substantially in that fight.

“I don't trust you by yourself.” With words like that, the octopus had all the reason in the world to worry.

The princess stumbled forward and he caught her, holding her safe in his arms before he was violently shoved back.

“Don't heal me!” Angla shouted in a fit of emotions.

“You shouldn't suffer. Why are you doing this to yourself?” It was pointless to just let her suffer. Doku didn't understand why she was being so ignorant. Of course she was in pain, but she was the princess of Nautica and she had more to think about than her own safety. The denizens of her kingdom needed her and she was of no use to them bedridden or dead.

“Promise me you won't heal me,” she glared him down. Angla wanted his word.

Doku shook his head. “I can't. If you're hurt badly enough, then I will heal you. I don't want you to die.” No matter what she said, no matter what her position, Angla would never make him waiver from his duties. It was his job to protect her first and foremost. If that made her angry, then so be it.

“I want to die.” If she were dead, then she wouldn't have to kill Symphony or live with the pain of her betrayal.

“No,” Doku's words were cold. He didn't even want to consider such a thought. Angla meant more to him than anyone else, and he wasn't about to let that be a possibility.

“I'll be fine. Don't heal me,” Angla led him away from that emotional outburst to get back to the point.

“I won't,” he agreed for now. “Answer my question.”

“I hate myself.”

“Why? You have no reason to be mad at yourself.” Sure, she was bound to have some guilt over this, but Doku knew that it wasn't her fault. There was no way that something like this could be her fault in the slightest. He didn't want her blaming herself over it, either.

“I failed somewhere. Please…smack me as hard as you can. I deserve it.” The princess clung to him, holding his biceps and shaking him. She begged for something to help her ease the pain. Maybe if he punished her she would be granted that.

“You don't,” the octopus averted his eyes. It was hard seeing her like this. “You're a great person and you're the best friend I've ever had.” No matter what, he was going to try and help her feel better. He knew it might not be something that she wanted to hear right now, but he was going to tell her regardless.

“You really think so?” Her question was negative. “The best? How does this make me the best? I don't feel like the best…” The distraught princess grabbed her scythe again with shaky hands. “This isn't the best for anyone.” The more she spoke, the more emotional she sounded. “What makes me the best? Please…forgive me…”

“There's nothing wrong with you. You're just upset,” Doku wouldn't fault her for that. It was more than hard to handle the gravity of the situation right now, for any of them.

“I'm so angry!” Angla chunked the scythe. The weapon made a clanking noise as it bounced off of the ground with the force of the throw. Right now, anger was one of her primary emotions. It was a maelstrom of anger, sorrow and pain…So much pain that she could barely handle it. She just wanted to end it.

“No one can stay constant all of the time…not even me.” As much as it seemed like the octopus was constantly void of emotions, he felt them. The denizens evolved and reacted to different stimuli in different manners. She was no different. What Angla felt and what she did was only natural for anyone in her position.

Red eyes looked at her hands, curled fingers cloaked in black gloves that hid the stickiness of blood. “What would my people think of me? What would they think of Symphony?” She didn't want to face them. She wasn't ready for that.

“I don't know. I'm sure we'll have to face their opinions,” Doku didn't want to worry about that at the moment.

“I don't want to face them now,” Angla's hands fell to her sides and her head tilted down as defeat rung loud in her voice. She was running down and became tired. The pain of her wounds was finally getting to her as numbness gave way to deep, shark pains that resonated through her body.

“Accord didn't look that special,” Doku didn't see much to worry about from that shark. He might have been the cause of that war, but he wondered if he was really as much of a threat as everyone made him out to be.

“Outward appearances aren't everything. He isn't like any of us,” Angla reminded him that if he was going off of looks he was making a bad decision.

“We need to stop him before he sways anyone else to his side.” Even if Accord didn't look like much, Doku knew he at least had the power of persuasion on his side. That was bad enough.

“Will you be alright, Princess Angla?” Moegi continued to look on with concern.

“I don't want to think about it anymore,” Angla just wanted to rest.

“I can understand why you're so distressed. I certainly played the fool as well by trusting Lady Symphony. This is awful, even for her rebellious attitude. This is outrageous.” None of them saw it coming. They let her tie strings around their limbs and danced on them so willingly. The more he thought about it, the more it sickened him.

“Why would Symphony betray us?” The anglerfish knew that there was more involved than just her relationship with Accord. There had to be.

“Because she's a bitch,” the words were so simply spoken from the octopus.

“Doku!” Moegi cast him a reprimanding glare.

“I thought she was my friend,” Angla's voice began to crack with emotion again. As soon as she thought one onslaught of emotions was over another would assault her again. Just when she thought she was tired of crying, more tears would flow from her eyes. It was never ending torment at this rate.

“You don't need her,” Doku tried to reassure her. If anything, she had him and that was all she needed.

“She loved her friend, just like she loves you and me.” The shark knew that it was something Angla wasn't just going to get over this. It would leave a deep scar on her.

“Love…” Doku just scoffed at the word.

“Angla, please don't be depressed. It's bad for you,” Moegi knew that her words probably wasn't the best, but she wanted to help the best she could.

“I'll kill her,” Doku hugged the princess protectively from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. A light blush crept over his cheeks and he looked at peace being there with her like that. “Don't worry, Princess Angla.”

She said nothing to him. The only sound that could be heard was her sobbing as she fell apart in his lukewarm arms.

“Please…don't cry,” the sage's voice was surprisingly gentle as he tried to chide her sorrows.

“I thought she…I thought we were friends…” The choked sobs kept coming as she tried to speak but her crying soon overtook her and she turned, hugging him tightly as she wept into his chest. The faint smell of the sea flowed through her senses as she surrounded herself with his comforting aura.

“I'm here, Princess Angla. Cry on me all you want. I will always be here,” Doku held her tightly. More than anything, he wanted to continue holding her and protecting her like that. Being with his princess made him feel calm and he wanted that feeling to last forever.

…To Be Continued