Chapter XI, Beasts and Beings

They say that the fish itself was one of the first and rare creations of the dead lady. The one that was meant to take care of the seas, as she will devour the lands of man. Some say, that the Angler was created when she swooped across the oceans once, with all life fading underneath her flight. Others say that he hand picked the most gruesome beasts from within the depths, and as she mangled them together, she created this abomination. It was hard to tell really, as legends about sea monsters were always present, one way or another. The third version is, that she corrupted one of the guardians of the seas, and twisted him into her likings. Perhaps all three of those stories are somewhat true, as always in those types of tales. The important part would be, that whatever she did, she created this gruesome aberration. The name Angler wasn't taken out of nowhere you see, since it resembled somewhat those that lied deep underneath the sea, with it's huge light hovering across it's monstrous forehead. Some say that this very beast was the one that gave birth to those twisted creatures, others argue that it was hardly possible. Whatever was the case, it used it's huge light to lure and maim, as it was huge enough and bright enough for sailors to mistake it for a bacon of hope, a nearest harbor, a safe haven. Shame that the only thing they received from that, were the sharp and pointy teeth that impaled anything that came into it's way. Sometimes the creature let someone go, a luck for the being one could say. Their minds were never the same however, touched by the horrors they experienced, marked with insanity, that will forever linger in their heads. The beast did that on purpose, to strike fear, to strike terror, to destroy not only one's body, but one's soul. There was a time in the history of Aaa, when no ship tried to set his sails. There was a time when the creature began to spawn more and more of his likings, as the stories told – it's 'children' were simply parts of it's body, that felt down due to the rot that went through it's half alive corpse. The future looked quite grim for everyone, many were lost, their bodies never to be found. And then she came. Lilly. On the path of destroying the lady dead, she obviously had to take care of some of the monster she spawned on her way. The Angler was only a natural course she would take. The legends told, that the great heroine, Lilly, battered with an evil ocean. It sounded silly at first, but those who payed attention to the story, knew whom the ocean was, and it was not a simple shambling mass of water, oh no. It was the aberration itself. Many liked to tell the story differently, for some, the antagonist being the ocean itself sounded more dramatic. Hardly anyone knew however why she haven't slayed the beast in the first place. Perhaps she had a soft spot after all, and it was the same reason why the lady was captured, not destroyed in the end? No one knew. The battle was well known however, that's for sure, in every harbor, every vessel, songs were sang about Lilly, who swam across the seas, to find her prey. Was it true that the heroine took just a single, small launch for her journey to hell? It was hard to tell. Knowing her however, that was a possibility, as she was quite nuts. The legends of her, roaming the waters of Aaa, defeating bands of pirates, tangling the Kraken's tentacles, punching one shark with another, everyone knew that. And everyone knew the end of it. It was a grim day, a dark day, a day in which the sky itself was to manifest it's fear. Lilly swam across, armed only with her glove and her sturdy sword. She was driven to the light, but unlike the rest of the clueless moths that did that in the past, she was prepared. Some say that her hair was set loose, as it waved poetically in the wind, others say, that she was sick and tired of the journey, and wanted it to be over as soon as possible. It was probably the latter, but everyone likes to remember it otherwise, despite never being there. As she got closer, the beast began it's tricks. It was always the same – to gain influence over someone's mind, and lead him straight into the sharp abyss. It showed premises of such things, such wonders, that it's victims happily felt for it each and every time. There are debates of what he actually showed Lilly. Some say that he tried to maim her with well earned glory, as he showed her the whole world bowing to her will, praising her, bowing before her to the very ground, appealing to her good side. Some say that he tried to promise her immortality, as passing away was always somewhat an issue for her. There are obviously other theories, quite unpopular at that. One says, that the being showed her never ending riches, stashes of gold far over the horizon. And then, there was one other tale. A tale of lust. It hardly fitted everyone's imagining of Lilly however, so the fact that the beast would even try to maim her with the sight of lustful frames, bending and showing their attributes right before her, and her reaching out for them, was hardly a thing most wanted to believe. Whatever was the case, she was smarted than that. She saw through illusions, but played along, as the beast lured her closer and closer. As it tried to swallow her in full, she retained her senses, and with the usage of her sturdy glove, she ripped out one of the beast teeth. It roared in agony, as their battle began. At first, they fought on surface, when she tried to stab it with her sword. The skin of this abomination however was like an impenetrable shell, so she needed ideas. Fast. She was obviously agile enough to dodge every single attack of the creature, still, the monster was smart enough not to give her advantage she needed. Therefore, it went underwater, with her tightly clutched to it's back. In the darkness, only lightened by the being's bulb, they came lower and lower. It was obvious that it wanted to drown her. That would be a quick end to the story however, and it wouldn't be so popular if it wasn't for what Lilly did next. She simply let go, and waited. There was still some air in her lungs for her to do so, still, what she was about to do relied only on pure luck, and she knew it. She loved to gable however, and this time, she played her cards right. The creature was greedy enough to swallow her in full. That's all she wanted. On the outside, the being could be protected by it's hard scales. Here? Here it was soft and vulnerable. Precisely what she aimed for. She began to cut, stab, as the walls of flesh began to bleed all around her. The monster was defenseless. There were many poetic things they told about this encounter. Metaphors of describing what she did. The fact remained the same however – she bashed through the monster guts to weaken it as much as she could. And then she reached to it's heart. One could ponder how it was still beating, that wasn't the case that she pondered about however. And just as she wanted to pierce it with her sword, something apparently tangled in her head. She never liked to kill things, that was a common knowledge. What she did inside of the beast, that was quite the mystery. It's almost lifeless body however dropped to the very bottom of the sea, and remained there, amongst the shipwrecks that simply laid around as a grim reminder of what happened here. The most important thing was, that Lilly was victorious. How she emerged on the surface? No one knew, perhaps it was one of those mysteries that were meant to be guessed by many. The more naive ones believed that the sea itself helped her, as the dolphins came by and rescued her from her rotting prison. Others tell stories about her endurance and grand swim to the very top. Some told about the artifact she held in her pocket for this very occasion. The truth? That is something no one knew, and she never elaborated on that issue as well. She just enjoyed the attention she gained afterward, especially from all the well built sailors, that indulged her in the way of life on the sea, one way or another. This part was always skipped for some reason. Perhaps most people wanted to see Lilly as a deity of sorts, rather than what she really was. Hard to tell. Either way, near the place of the beast defeat, on the forbidden coast, soon enough a harbor emerged, who's inhabitants pledged to guard this place, as the beast was never meant to be freed from within it's slumber. They were so eager to do so, they wanted to be a part of something big, they wanted their share of fame. They also said that they shall cast a curse upon anyone who will try to disrupt the peace of this world, a peace of this land. What Lilly herself had to say about their guidance? Hard to tell really. As usual, some said that she gave them her blessing. Others say that she was too occupied with chasing down the dead lady. And a few told that she found a nice place to stay, in the court of one of the trading princes, dealing with many, as they say, natural goods. For some time, everything was fine. A long time actually. And then, obviously, something had to happen. Marshall's crew was the one foolish enough to stumble upon those forbidden lands, stupid enough to wake the beast with their greed and recklessness, just as he told. And when the beast was awoken, nothing was the same once again, as it began to spawn more and more of it's offspring. Devouring everything that came into it's way. Waiting for his dark lady to return, to pat him on his head. The only reward it needed. The only reward it required. But until that day, the day of her return, it will linger, grow stronger. Cause terror. Cause mayhem.

###

"So, that's the story. Happy now?!" Marshall shouted, as one of the tentacles pounded on the deck. It's slimy presence was quite repulsive, as the suctions underneath it were constantly trying to grab onto him. He was far too agile for this gigantic beast however, as he tried his best to get out of harms way. "Happy?!"

"Quite!" The prince screamed with hardly hidden curiosity, as he rammed a chair into the weird being's eye that gazed at them constantly. Much to his deduction, his doings hardly did a thing. He liked to try regardless, since he hardly came up with a plan so far. "So that's merely a spawn of the beast itself?! Fascinating!"

"Can you two quit your flirting and do something productive?"

Fionna obviously had enough of their little bonding, as she cut her way through the numerous slimy appendices. The creature itself was rather weird looking. It's eyes blazed in light, almost like two huge flashlights. It bared a resemblance to a fish of sorts, the only distinguish feature were it's tentacles that came right from within it's gills. It's skin looked almost as if it was rotting, as the abomination constantly was loosing it's scales, revealing the diseased flesh underneath it. Despite it's gruesome looks, that hardly bothered the girl however. She finally had her monster, even if that wasn't the main beast, it was still nice to see some verity. She was quite tired fighting lunatics with issues tangled deeply in their heads. A proper beast always cheered her up. In the meantime, the prince was tossed away by one of the creature's tentacles, as he still battered with the gruesome eye. As the aberration tried to climb aboard in full, the sword girl cut each and every limb it had attached to the side, thus provoking the beast to spit out some of it's partially digested victims, tangled in sea weed.

"Oh, so that's where you came from!"

She shouted in amusement, as she decapitated the first one that came into her way. They were never a threat, so why did the creature thought they will be this time around? Hard to tell. She dispatched them one by one however, as they seemed to came in numerous waves from within the sharp teethed maw. That only made her span more, as the slashes and cuts intensified, with monster guts flying everywhere around, which made Gumball shiver. Marshall was quite occupied as well. With all the attention the girl gathered around herself, he managed to climb unnoticed right on the aberration's back, where he could finally launch his attack. As he shifted his hands into sharp claws, he drove them deep within the creature's bloat head. It wasn't enough to kill it however, and it would seem that it only angered the beast, as it roared heavily. It probably called for help of others of it's kind, still, the noise it made agitated someone else, whom the beast hardly expected. As the doors from the bottom decks opened, the Ice Queen finally emerged, and judging by the look on her face, she was quite furious. Perhaps it was because when she and the prince saw the lights, he asked her to get some sleep, while he'll inspect this weird and unusual phenomena. She was never the one that opposed his words, so she did just that. But now, interrupting her beauty sleep, that was simply unacceptable. A damsel needs the time for herself after all.

"Aren't you ugly? Ugly, ugly, ugly." She grinned with her sharp teeth. "Almost as ugly as the girl. You smile bit nicer however."

"Hey!"
"Maybe not that much nicer however."

She started to laugh in her high pitched voice, as she began to float once more. Her skills proven to be useful so far, therefore she hardly doubted that this time will be any different. A monster, a weirdo that lead her steel ship, flaming thin tomboy, those things hardly mattered for her. Everything can be frozen. And shattered while at it. As she conjured the icicles in her hands, she planned on dealing with matters in the usual matter – with brutal force of her sharp and cold tools. It was only a matter of time before she let out the numerous frozen daggers that were meant to hit the beast. As they reached the rotten surface however, every single one of them shattered, just like that. That failed? Well, she had other tricks up her sleeves, as she sprouted a beam of frost right in between the beast's eyes. What would typically froze it completely, here, it had no effect. That made her ponder, since that tactic always worked wonders. Obviously, thinking on the battlefield was hardly the wisest of ideas, as yet another tentacle emerged from the bloated body, this time right behind her icy presence. As it was meant to swoop her of the air, the combined forces of Marshall and Fionna, quickly sliced it in half. There was hardly time for thanks, as the rest of the beast was still a dangerous matter that hardly could be ignored, especially since it spewed more and more of it's former victims, slowly floating the deck with them.

"Go for the eyes!"

The prince shouted, and they quickly agreed without words, as the plan was rather straightforward. Obviously the icicles hardly did the thing, but the girl's sword, as well as the vampire's powers were enough to just do the trick. The two simply nodded at each other and charged onward. The Queen followed the girl, as she never enjoyed being left away from the action, and she never enjoyed being ignored. As much as she disliked the one in the white hat, she would never let her hog all the glory in front of her beloved prince, oh no, oh no. When Marshall swirled around towards the left eye, with the harpoon that suddenly appeared in his hands, the very same that they gathered from the depths of the sea, she grabbed the girl within her cold, slim hands and lift her up, flying right towards the beasts eyes. Numerous tentacles and corpses blocked their path, but it was nothing that the cold steel couldn't dispatch, as parts of the aberration as well as the humanoid limbs flew in every possible direction soon enough. And as the final moment came, both the vampire and the girl gauged the eyes of the beast, as the light erupted from the blood filled sockets, only to put a veil of darkness over the surrounding right after that. The prince was quite occupied as well, since as soon as his companions reached their destination, he began to maneuver the ship out of the creature's way, as the three tried their best to cut the beast from the side of their vessel, much like you cut the unwanted parasite from the healthy body. It was only after their combined forces, and the gale from within the Queen sleeves, that the beast finally dropped into the watery depths, struggling to keep itself on the surface. They were safe, for now at least.

"So, that's that." The prince said, as he looked back at the creature that bashed it's way throughout the waves, trying to reach them somehow. He pondered what will happen now. Knowing the ways of the sea, since this thing is now defenseless, something bigger will come and consume it. Without it's eyes, while still posing some threat, it's unable to fend for itself for too long. Leaving it alive was surely no mercy from their side. "So, our main goal is the so called 'mother and father in one' that spewed out this thing?"

"Yep."

"Charming and delightful. And all we have to beat it, aside from... ourselves, is this rusty stick?"

"Well..." Marshall grinned. "When they say you're smart gummy, they aren't kidding."

"Delightful. Just delightful."