A/N: Hey there! I hope that you're in for an adventure because this fan fiction might be crazy! Of course, the characters are humans, or Sharko is a half shark and half human, or just a merman, whatever he is...

"The Contract"

Zig was at it again. He was chasing Marina all over the ocean trying to eat her, along with also threatening many species of fish living nearby by destroying coral reefs that had lived for thousands of years. How did this kind of thing happen? Well, Zig had some kind of genius plan of building a so-called, net boat, as he named it. It was a boat where a huge mechanical net was stuck on to it that was specifically designed to grab mermaids and swing them to a certain location, which had coordinates that were inserted into the net's engine. The net would swing Marina into a big boiling pot of water on the coast of the island that Zig himself prepared. The net malfunctioned, however, because just as Sharko was about to practically kill Zig, he accidentally hit the engine of the net, resulting in it trying to catch anything at an incredibly deadly rate. Quickly, it became Zig's biggest threat but, it became useful to him once he saw that the net could be used to speed up his boat using the force it had on the water. He turned the net using a lever he constructed on it, using it as a paddle, and was finally catching up to Marina as Sharko tried to swim up to her and protect her from the net. Just when Zig caught up to Marina and Sharko, the net somehow caught Zig and threw him back to the island, in which he landed in the big boiling pot of water. Luckily, Bernie was near and got Zig out of the pot just in time before he was freshly boiled meat.

Zig contemplated a while before chasing Marina again. He always wondered why Marina was somehow saved last minute before he grabbed her and munched on her. Was there some kind of guardian angel that protected even the smallest strand of Marina's hair from catastrophic disasters? He looked over to the ocean and realized that Marina was already back to her favorite spot on the rock where a bunch of sea creatures had quickly gathered by her fins. It was noted that she seemed unharmed and unwary of what had just happened. Of course she had an angel watching her back because that would explain everything, but, it's not as though Zig cared because he just wanted to eat Marina no matter how impossible it seemed and how many failures he accumulated. Although, he felt a nagging ache in the back of his mind that would often tell him that there was a more efficient idea of finding food. But, it was just that, a nagging thought in the back of his mind which he never listened to.

For Zig's thirtieth project that day, he made a giant slingshot plus a mermaid-seeking basket, which was intended to be shot from the island to the nearest mermaid to capture it. He recorded the fact that he prepared it in thirty minutes and that it was already perfected in that amount of time. All that was needed was try it out. He took a remote control that was connected to the slingshot's mechanics and pressed the big red button he created with a picture of a skull on it. The slingshot's elastic band stretched back with the barrel on it and, in a second, it shot the barrel which flew at an incredible speed towards the closest mermaid. As the barrel neared Marina who sat in her usual spot, it turned directions. Once Zig saw that the barrel caught Sharko instead, his face was left agape, however, he then realized that it was finally his chance to catch Marina without being disturbed. He got on the boat with the net from thirty minutes ago and quickly caught up to Marina, this time using a normal paddle. Just as he was one meter away from her, he felt a wrecking of his boat underneath him. He fell underwater and noticed a similar figure of that of Sharko, he swallowed the sea water, seemingly trying to perform a gulp and swam up. When he was face-to-face with the shark, he nervously laughed and mumbled a sorry when he saw the furious expression that the other man had on his face. It didn't work, however, because he was sent flying to the island with wooden barrel parts all over his face. Again, he sighed and wondered why he kept failing just when he was so close to eating that darned mermaid. Maybe it was because of Sharko's interventions, he briefly wondered, however, he quickly pushed that thought away.

When he finally finished pulling all of the splinters out of his hair, Zig went to sit down on some rocks near the coast, however, he winced and noticed that his latest bruise from Sharko was too serious to ignore. He frowned and realized he had been at this whole eating Marina thing all day and with no luck so far. He looked over to the ocean and saw the mermaid singing her usual song as always in her melodic voice, as well as noticing the little sea creatures admiring her even more than before. She also had Sharko guarding her, who was observing all the creatures for any sort of suspicious activity. Suddenly, an idea from the back of Zig's mind popped up and moved its way to his current thoughts. What if Zig got a bodyguard who protected him and served him his basic needs? Someone who could beat up his enemies within seconds and remained loyal to him whether he was evil or not. But, who the heck would care about Zig that was strong enough to protect him? Certainly not Bernie because he was the weakest of them all in this island and sea, but he was loyal. Zig thought more deeply about this and realized that rather focusing on someone's loyalty, he could win over someone's faith, surely there was a person out there that he could build a reputation with.

Suddenly, the thought of King Neptune popped up in Zig's head as well as a light bulb. He reminded himself of the encounters between the King and himself. He noted that the last time he met King Neptune, he saw that the man was rich and powerful, and could've offer anyone the world's riches in a single snap of his fingers and that's more than what Zig wanted. The problem was, how could Zig gain enough fame for the man to notice him and allow him to get anything? Neptune knew how many times Zig had been thinking of Marina as lunch. That woman was everything to King Neptune and if anyone tried killing her, well, that person was to be banished from his kingdom. However, when Zig thought it over, the words, that woman was everything to King Neptune, played over in his mind repeatedly. Zig, then, smiled to himself knowing exactly what to do and what to gain. He was going to try to win over King Neptune by offering him Marina's love, and if he succeeds, Neptune would give him anything he ever wanted. Zig congratulated himself for his ingenuity and decided to meet Neptune as soon as possible.

He immediately set up a boat for himself, just about guessing where the king lived based on his previous visits. Maybe it was in the middle of the ocean or just along the coastal water? That question didn't matter now because Zig was already swimming in the deep-sea with his snorkeling gear after jumping off his boat. He felt the pressure of the ocean when he went a few meters in, luckily, he could see a huge glowing area that was not too far away from him that he guessed was King Neptune's castle. When he got closer to it, he could see that it was exactly as he guessed, however, he saw intimidating killer whales that were guarding the gates to the place. He was finally able to walk along the ocean floor and allowed himself in, wary of the whales that slightly changed positions and glared daggers at him. He sweat dropped and walked at a quicker pace. Zig didn't see why he should care why he was let in so easily, but it was creepy in a way. He did try to kill Marina countless times a day, but, he figured that since he failed so many times, he was an exception. He came to two humongous double doors that slowly opened when he walked towards them, then he saw the brightest colors that he only saw when he knocked out by Sharko, in the castle. Zig briefly wondered how fascinating it would be to own the entire castle and have about a million people serving him at a moment's notice. He came to, however, and noticed a man with long silky hair enjoying himself in a golden-plated hand-held mirror.

He had a crown, a royal seat and not to forget, two marine animals by the side dressed as butlers serving him the best of the best meal. Zig's eyes and mouth went wide, and he was drooling a bit, as well as inching closing to the unmistakable posh pie. He immediately snapped out of it once he heard the man in front of him clear his throat, also known as King Neptune. Neptune tapped the floor with his trident, seemingly to gather attention from everyone in the castle, which were more than 30 if you counted all his bodyguards. He turned the trident sideways and pointed the three-prongs towards Zig. "Why it's Zig, have you come to bother me?" he asked. His voice echoed through his walls and only the sound of air bubbles could be heard from Zig's snorkeling gear. Zig shook his head and tried to talk but, as he was in underwater, all he could was make bubbles come out of his mouth. He blushed lightly from embarrassment and pointed upwards, trying to tell the other man that they might need to go the surface to talk. Neptune nodded and swam over, not before gesturing two of his guards to come with him. Once they swam up to the surface, Zig finally took off his snorkeling gear, although it hurt a bit because he forced it off. He stood, or floated, face-to-face with King Neptune and his guards and went straight to the point, "Neptune, this may be something of your interest. All you have to do is hear me out." Neptune rolled his eyes and added his disappointment in Zig's persistent, "if this is one of your ingenious plans to eat Marina, leave me out of it and leave yourself out of my sight, as well."

"No, it's nothing like that. In fact, this may be the single greatest thing that you could ever gain." Zig smiled with pride while rubbing his palms together mischievously. "Oh, brother," Neptune said doubtfully while crossing his arms and looking to the side, "well, I'll listen so go on."

Zig prepared himself mentally, as there was a whole bunch of things he wanted to spew out. "So, I was thinking," he took a deep breath and reiterated, "I was thinking about making Marina fall super-in-love with you, so that you could give me some of that luxurious meal you have everyday, and so I won't have to bother her ever again for the rest of her life and leave you two alone all lovey-dovey."

At first, King Neptune stood there in his place impassive, however, once he ran through his mind and registered what Zig had said, his eyes brightened and gave a smile so huge that made him seem like a psychopath. He cupped his chin and fixed his posture, but immediately decided that he should, instead, give a slow clap to the young gentleman. "Well done, Zig, well done. This is marvelous of you to inform me of this deal you had in mind, and to come all the way out here risking to be eaten for this. It is most certainly a brilliant idea, but we must consider its flaw, how will you make my maiden fall in love with me?" Zig froze in place, not being able to give a response. All that could come out of his mouth were some plans that could probably end up killing her, but, when he searched deeper he came up with a single grand idea that only the simplest of fairy tales had. "A love potion," which he said to Neptune. Neptune legitimately laughed, clutching a bit to his stomach to exaggerate the ridiculousness. Zig felt annoyed at the mockery and gave another reply, although this time he was a bit reluctant, "maybe a true love's kiss?"

"Or nothing at all!" Shouted Neptune, emphasizing his two last words. "Honestly, Zig, did you think some idea with no actual setup in mind would work?" He paused, waiting for Zig to say anything. When all he saw was a glum look and a bit of fidgeting he continued. "Well, if this is all you had, I think it is time that we ended this conversation. Goodbye. Shall we take our leave, gentlemen?" he said to his two guards as he sank deeper to the ocean. Zig caught his arm, however, and quickly spoke before the other man had a chance to call his guards, "wait, you can't just leave! You have to have some sort of idea as well, don't you?"

Neptune ripped his arm away from the extremely weak and bony arms and commented on the insolence the man had. "You little brat, how dare you grab the arm of a king! I will not partake in any of your silliness, whatsoever! Guards, get him out of my sight!" The whales grabbed Zig's arms and began to take him away. Zig tried to resist, but, the more he did the more pain it was because of his bruises. He knew that he was no match for the killer whales, who definitely had years of body training for this type of thing. He couldn't win with strength, but, he could win with words. Suddenly, the stupidest idea popped up in his head and he had no idea that it would have worked, however, when he shouted it, it seemed to have catch the attention of the King, so much that he stopped in his tracks and asked the guards to lower their arms and let Zig go. Zig breathed heavily, knowing that resisting the killer whales had taken much out of him. He calmed himself for a few seconds to regain his breath and the King cleared his throat, who began to speak. "You say that if you get rid of Sharko, you can allow me to take his place and marry my beautiful Marina." Although Zig did not say that last part about marriage, he nodded his head severely. It seemed that Neptune was excited about marrying the woman and just that eager to get rid of Sharko for quite a while now. "Zig, you've disappointed me very much in these sole five minutes, however, if you can do this plan that I am demanding you to do, I might be willing to let you try some of that posh pie my personal chef have created." Neptune smiled despicably at Zig, whose eyes brightened once again at the mention of what might be his first real meal in his entire life.

Neptune waited a while before beginning to speak. "Here's the plan, I want you to kill Sharko, in three days. It doesn't matter what puny methods you use, I want him gone forever. After that, I will make my way to Marina and seduce her so that she soon becomes the Queen of the Sea. If this goes all well for both of us, I will grant you a lifetime of protection, as well as, a lifetime of food supply and sheltering for all your basic needs."

Zig was ecstatic and was about to express his gratitude, but, he was interrupted by Neptune before he could say anything. "Ah, but Zig, if you can't complete this deal or if you say you did and lied, do know that you are taking a risk." The way the King talked to Zig felt cold and so confident that Zig knew that anything horrible was bound to happen if he messed with the King of the Seas. "You can not quit after this, do you understand? You will be forced to comply my orders." Zig bit his lower lip and nodded before Neptune said his farewells. "I suppose we are done here. Gentlemen, shall we be going?" Neptune said, speaking to his guards rather than Zig.

After Neptune had left, Zig went back to the island to think about the contract and how the man only gave him three days to get rid of Sharko. He looked at the sea and saw that all the marine animals were gone from view. He guessed that they have all went to sleep, having felt sleepy as well, Zig went to sleep but not before tiring himself out thinking if Sharko had any vulnerability. "Probably not, it's impossible," he said as he sighed himself to sleep.

A/N: I don't even know if anyone is reading this fan fiction, lol. But, even if no one isn't I am still happy that I finished the first part to the story and will definitely be doing more.