Raimundo grinned in triumph as he passed his friends, again, quickly making his way to the finish line. Well, the two boulders that they named their finish line anyway. His orange and green tail gliding with him, slightly tapping the rocks as he swam between them. He turned and crossed his arms, a smirk on his face as his friends crossed, seconds after he did.

"Stop smirking. You may win today-"

"And yesterday, and the day before, and every time before that." Raimundo cut her off, his tone playful though holding truth.

"As I was saying-" She continued, a pointed glare at the interrupter. "You may have won a lot, but we'll beat you. And when we do, it's going to be great." The glare had dissolved into a challenging grin.

"Mhm, whatever you say Kim." Raimundo waved her off, another annoyed look crossed the black haired girls face. She crossed her arms, the scales that reached to her shoulders stretched, shinning in the new position.

"You think you're so amazing don't you? Well if you are as great as you pretend to be, why not do something no one can do?" The dare was set, and Kimiko waited for the bait to be taken.

"Like what?" And time to reel it in.

"Go past the trench." Raimundo looked at her like she was crazy. No one every went past the trenches, they had been taught for years not to. Something lived there, something apparently evil and terrifying. While Raimundo wasn't sure if he believed it or not, he didn't want to be the one to find out.

"No way! You know as well as I do that place is off limits!" Raimundo shook his head, waving his arms in an effort to make it clear how crazy the idea was. Kimiko only smirked at him.

"I know, but you don't actually believe all that stuff do you? Some scary monster? No one has EVER seen?"

"Guan's seen it!"

"Guan is also over a thousand years old! He might have seen something, but it's long dead by now." Kimiko reasoned, a know it all expression as she shrugged her shoulders. Raimundo bit the inside of his lip, glancing to the side as he tried to think of an excuse. After a moment of nothing good coming to mind, he gave up.

"Fine. I'll do it. Just to prove that I can do anything."

With that Raimundo swam away, ignoring Kimiko's calls of how he should wait until it's lighter out. He was challenged and he was going to complete it.

—

Though once he arrived he realized he should have listened to her. It was already dusk, the water above him faded up into a bright orange, and in front of him stood what seemed like a maze of trenches. He could just go over it but he'd heard that jellyfish usually swim over trenches as well, and not wanting to take that risk, he began swimming through bleak area. After only a few seconds the water had turned freezing, and a sick feeling filled Rai, almost making him turn around. The thoughts of Kimiko being able to say I told you say helped him push that feeling down and keep going, making his way to the end of multiple trenches.

Once he made it the very end the sun had set and the water around him was cold and dark. There was no way he'd be able to go home tonight. Shrugging that thought away he swam through the area that was said to be land of a monster. The territory of a great beast. And he laughed. It didn't look anything like that. The coral was full and colorful, there were homes of fish that would never stay near something so dangerous. Raimundo's assurance of monster being fake only grew as he continued on, swimming through reefs and into caves, all of it was nice and had obviously been untouched-possibly unseen- for years. Passing through another cave Raimundo let out a laugh at how silly all of this stupid hype about a beast was.

The laughter stopped when he slammed into something.

Something warmer than the walls.

Something alive.

Raimundo's eyes widened as he stared at the fin covered tail, of what he had hit, slowly making their way up to see an average merman, his heart beat slowed down some. Not much, but some.

"A visitor? In my humble little corner of the ocean? And what do I owe the pleasure, hm? Explorer? Curiosity? Or another little boy dared by his friends?" And his heart sped up again. Another. Another meaning other people had been here, other kids had been dared to come here, and he had a feeling they never made it back.

When Raimundo didn't answer the man just smirked. Not a playful one like Kimiko or triumphant like his own, but a terrifying, spine shivering smirk that terrified Raimundo. He covered it up as well as he could, but nonetheless it was scary. He began to circle Raimundo, similarly to a shark circling prey. The green and black striped tail flowed behind him, ending in a tattered red that reminded Rai of blood and pain, and did not help his thoughts in the situation.

"You seem to be a bit shy. Was I right? Is this just a foolish dare? Or a bet? To see if you could defeat the monster? Or by now I suppose to see if I'm even real." I'm. He said I'm oh God he is the monster. Raimundo tensed in his shoulders as he got closer, stopping in front of him and leaning so that their faces were practically touching. "Well I can assure you dear boy I am quite real."

"But you're not a monster." The words fell out with Raimundo even meaning for them too. The man in front of him dropped the smirk, a blank face taking it instead, he backed away from Raimundo and stared at him. "You don't look like one anyway. " That he had meant to say, because it was true. He may have been intimidating and all, but he didn't look like a monster.

"Oh but I am. Have you never heard the expression "don't judge a book by its cover"? It fits perfectly here." the man watched his own hand as he clenched it into a fist, slowly the hand grew scales and claws, the scales moving up his arms and onto his shoulders. The other arm mimicked it, and soon his torso had also begun to take on scales. His voice became odd, as if echoed by something darker. "I'm a monster feared on land and in the sea. If only you could survive on the surface for me to show you." With that the scales retracted back, disappearing as if they'd never been there. Raimundo stared slack jawed, wondering what the Hell had just happened.

"Your arms… Scales… What!?" Raimundo backed away from him, holding down as much fear as he could, but since it was dark and he was alone with this, this thing! It was hard not to be at least a little scared.

"I'm a monster. I thought we made that clear." Said monster swam backwards, a hole in the cave's ceiling allowed moon light to pierce the never ending darkness. Raimundo could now see him. He could see the green shine off of his hair, the odd reptile like, golden eyes, the pointed ears, and how sharp his teeth actually were.

"If you're a monster, why haven't you killed me yet?" A brave face taken on, possibly because even though he could see the other better, he wasn't as terrifying as Raimundo had imagined.

"Where's the fun in killing you right away? Or at all? Maybe I'll let you get away hm? Tell all your friends, assure them of the myth that there is something out there. But then again why would they believe you with no proof?" Slowly he swam closer, Raimundo backing into the cave's wall in response. This was bad.

"Proof?" Raimundo managed to ask, scared of the answer he would get. The male's right hand was once again covered in scales, black claws tipping off his fingers, and making its way to Raimundo's cheek. Flinching at the cold, and very sharp looking claws that had touched him, Raimundo went back to keeping eye contact in an effort to look brave. The claws slid, curve to cheek, down until they reached the side of Raimundo's neck. Neither of them spoke, neither of them moved any further. Eventually, the claws went away, the owner backed up a bit breaking the silence.

"You're braver than they were." He could tell that most of it, at least showing no fear, was an act. But even the ones who had passed through before couldn't do that. They had broken, begged for their lives, begged to get away, and he had ignored these pleas, silencing them quickly.

Raimundo didn't respond, only keeping his eye contact as the man watched him. He didn't have anything to say, and he didn't want to say the wrong thing. Silence once again over took them, both of them waiting for the other to do something, anything. Raimundo was the one who broke it this time.

"What's your name anyway?" A brief look of confusion or surprise took the other male, not expecting such an odd question so far from what had been their topic. "Everyone just calls you the monster of the beast that lives past the trenches. But you have a name. Don't you?" After a seconds of silence, as if contemplating or remembering what it was, the other answered.

"Yes, I do. My name is Chase. Chase Young, ruler of the land of nowhere." While he looked distinguished while saying it, a snigger from the younger boy broke that expression and earned an annoyed glare.

"Land of Nowhere? Is that what this place is called? Because it sounds like something you just made up." Raimundo smirked, his arms crossed as he watched the other.

"I didn't. It is made up, but not by myself. This land was named far before I took it." Raimundo wasn't sure if he was lying or not, he'd never heard this place being called the land of nowhere, then again other than being told to never come here, he hadn't heard much about it at all.

"That doesn't seem like a fitting name. Land of Nowhere makes it sound like it should be barren. It didn't look very barren to me."Raimundo motioned to the other entrance of the cave.

"It isn't out there. As you get farther in all life seems to disappear. The land of Nowhere is a field of volcanoes, so many that nothing even has time to grow here, and nothing can sustain life. Other than myself, and a few select creatures." Raimundo glanced to the exit curiously. Chase swam out without a word, though the glance he sent before he was gone gave the hint he wanted, well he was okay with Raimundo following him. And he did, his wonder gaining the upper hand as the swam through what Raimundo was started to see as barren. Only a few feet of any plant life lay outside the cave, after that it faded until only sand remained.

After they had past a few volcanoes, things Chase had assured him would not erupt any time soon, they saw one of the "Select creatures" he had mentioned earlier. Blue scales went down the serpent creature, sharp teeth barred as it stared at both of them, eyes that only had lighter blue in them, and a face that looked very angry that something had wondered into that it seemed to think of as its territory.

"Be still." Raimundo barely heard Chase mutter. He followed the instructions, his eyes switching off between watching the odd creature, and Chase. The scales had come back, claws and all, this time they spread up his neck, covering all of his torso, his back had the same pattern as his tail and his stomach was an off yellow. As his eyes went back to the long reptilian beast that had stopped him, so had Chase.

Raimundo had never seen so much blood cloud around something. Not even in the multiple fights he's had with his friends, that sometimes get a bit rough. Once the blood had cleared, mostly, he saw the now dead creature slung over Chase's back. He also saw that Chase had almost completely transformed. His face had lost any traces of being human, the only thing telling him they were the same person were the golden reptile eyes, that Raimundo now somewhat understood why they were reptilian. He could tell by the way his nostrils flared and his chest heaved that breathing was becoming difficult for him, and one fin on the back of his tail had grown thicker and longer, as if it was suppose to be another tail.

In a bright flash all of those changes had reverted, leaving the stunning male in the form he had been in before.

"Water Dragons are the other creatures that can survive here. Actually they thrive in areas like this, the warmth from the magma is ideal for their nests. At least with this particular species." Shrugging the shoulder that the dragon was draped over, moving it into a better position to carry Chase began swimming forward again, explaining nothing else. Not the form, the obvious breathing trouble, just what the other creature was. Ignoring the multiple questions that waited in his head Raimundo followed close behind him, avoiding the trail of blood that still leaked from the dead dragon.

When Chase swam into another cave, one that had warm water practically gushing from it, Raimundo hesitated before following him. He had said that nothing else could survive here, and maybe he just meant live here for a long time, but if it kept getting hotter as you go into the cave, he would fry. But Chase hadn't seemed to mean him any harm, yet anyway. And he had a bad feeling that if tried to get away now, he might end up dead anyway. Deciding it might be best to go ahead and follow Chase, Raimundo did so, ignoring the fact that so far it was indeed getting hotter as they kept going through the cave.

This time cold water swept of them both, the blue serpent was dropped in a corner as Chase continued through the large cool colored room. Raimundo could tell that they were in some sort of cove, the walls were large around them, and it looked like there were multiple waterfalls above them.

"What was that back there?" Raimundo finally asked, since Chase had stopped moving he assumed they had reached their destination. The multiple questions he had were the only reason he had continued to follow Chase, and now since there was no more following to do, he was going to get some answers.

"That was the reason they call me a monster. Most of it anyway." Without even turning to face him Chase answered casually, as if it had been obvious. "The full form is a bit different, and quite idiotic to take on so deep underwater." So that's why it looked like breathing was difficult, it's because that form, that full form anyway, was meant for land.

"Why do you have it?" Chase's expression dropped into a solemn one, and Raimundo almost felt the need to take the question back, but it was too late. He had asked it, and he did want an answer.

"I would think you would know. Though since nobody knows my name, or even thinks I exist anymore, I guess that story has also been lost in the years." Once again he was staring at the scales that molded over his hand, and watched them disappear as he willed them to. "Well it's a simple story really. Long ago, when the ocean was ruled by one king, he had two knights. Myself, and a man named Guan-"

"So Guan did know you! But he never talked about any of this." Raimundo interrupted, Guan may have been the one that always warned them of this area, but he had still never heard anything specific about the kinds knights.

"I'm not surprised. He never did like remembering the bad things in life." Bad things. Raimundo noted that there was probably more between them than just being comrades, but he saved that thought for later as Chase continued. "The kingdom was at war, as you most likely know, with a witch who could practically bend the laws of nature in her favor. Thankfully the king and the two knights were able to lock her away, but with one evil gone, a new one must rise." An inkling of remembrance hit Raimundo, some similar phrase had been told to him while he was young, explaining why there had to be evil in the world, and why balance had to be kept. If evil is vanquished, all that will happen is a new, stronger evil will rise in its place.

"And that new evil was you?" Chase nodded in response.

"I was told that my destiny could only be met if I was evil. So I made a deal with the devil you could say, and now I'm the beast that roams outside the trenches." His tone added a bit of theatrics to the last part, making it clear he found that whole part of his legend silly.

"So you are evil. And you said you've killed others for coming here before. Why am I so lucky?" So far anyway. Raimundo went ahead and guessed that no one else had made it past meeting him, and that no one else had ever asked his name.

"Isn't it obvious? I don't usually attack unless I'm attacked first, at least not without reason. You didn't attack me. You didn't show fear of me. And you didn't try to, how did they all put it? 'Destroy the monster that has ravaged this land for centuries' or something along those lines." Chase rotated his hand and wrist, not really seeing why it was a big deal, he could be merciful. Sometimes.

"Because I didn't treat you like a monster." A thick tension proved just how correct Raimundo was in his statement. "How long has it been since someone's done this?" Chase didn't answer, Raimundo took that as a never.

"I don't need people to treat me well. They fear or respect me. That's why I made the deal." Evil usually did call for people being afraid of you, but beast or not right now he was a person. Emotions that may have been buried for a thousand years still existed. Being treated as a monster before anyone even knew your name still had to hurt. Even if it was only in the beginning.

"But-"

"I think it's time you leave." Before he could even respond Chase had already begun swimming away, ignoring anything else the boy might question or remark on.

Raimundo left, not wanting to risk staying, besides if he wasn't back by morning he'd be in deep trouble.

It wasn't until Raimundo had made it to the other side of the trenches that he realized he'd never told Chase his name.

He'd have to make sure to give a proper introduction next time he saw him. After all, Raimundo still had a lot of questions that he wanted answers for.

—-

"So there's no monster?" Kimiko asked. Raimundo had told them a shorter, less detailed version of what had happened the night before. Much less detailed.

"N'ah there are monsters. Water Dragons though. Scary but I was able to out swim them." His arms crossed behind his head, Raimundo gave a cocky smirk to his friend who only rolled her eyes.

"Of course you were. Whatever, kind of a bummer that the myths are pretty much just that." She remarked, shrugging her shoulders in a bit of disappointment.

"Maybe not one big one, but I'd still avoid that place. Those dragons really don't want anyone touching their young. Or going near them. At all." Uncrossing his arms and cutting the air in a 'no-go' motion, Raimundo made it clear that the land beyond the trenches were not to be seen by anyone.

Well not his friends. For now anyway. He wanted to find out what he could before he tried to do anything.

Another question for Chase popped into his mind as he continued to talk with Kimiko.

'I wonder if Chase likes racing.'