Chapter 19: Horror brings forth a new beginning

"Hey, the other employee's gone!" Naruto said, suddenly glancing around.

Terry shook a fist at the air.

"Curse you, King Neptune! Curse you!"

Sasuke groaned.

"I hate cliche anger."

Kakashi ripped out another wedgie.

The young blonde shinobi, thinking of his poor Sakura, probably cold and frightened, popped his knuckles.

"We have to save Sakura!"

Sakura held her breath.

"His 'Aquarians'?" She thought, very unhappy.

King Neptune leapt to his feet and began making whale noises, including the low deep-voiced sounds. Nobody, not even friendly sea whales, returned his calls.

"They will come soon enough,"King Neptune hissed,"Soon enough."

His "bride", angry and sunburned, scoffed at him.

"You're nuts! You're insane! How on earth did you get to ever run a water park?!"

He stared at her, almost shocked. She smiled-knowing she had finally been able to break that ignorant barrier of oblivious nonsense.

"Hmph! I'll bet you're not even the real King Tuna the 3rd, in fact, my guesses point to you're no king at all."

King Neptune's bottom lip began to tremble.

"You're just a sorry loser who wished he lived the life of a cheezy mascot for a sorry theme park, how idiotic!"

His eyes began to cloud.

"Actually, you're probably just some bum who needed a job-came to this puddle of cheap crap, and went crazy."

Suddenly, King Neptune really did begin to make whale noises. Only they were sobs. Horrible, wooing noises that rise to a high-pitched squeal, and then drop to a low, barritone-like sound. Tears were running down his face, and snot leaked from his flaring nostrils.

Sakura froze. Had she really done that good of a job?

"I thought what we had was special!" He whaled, pointing a finger at her.

Sakura squirmed in the ropes uncomfortably. What was she supposed to say?

"I loved you! I wanted to make you a queen! My queen! But now, but now,-" Now, pounding on the cold cement with his fists, King Neptune began to sob uncontrolablly.

His nose and eyes leaked wildely. His mouth made noises like a distorded flute. Sakura bit her bottom lip. She hadn't meant for this to happen. Is this how Sasuke felt when Terry had his Water Land break down?

"Um, well, I've been trying to tell you," Sakura said, "I'm not your queen Aqua Marine, I'm Sakura-"

Maybe it was better not to tell him her last name.

King Neptune wiped a hand across his watery eyes.

"I thought you l-loved me...I thought you were different."

Sakura, just barely, inched her way closer to him.

"Different? Different from who?"

King Neptune's bottom lip trembled.

"Everybody, everybody who made fun of me and hated my guts!"

Sakura, more easily, scooted closer.

"Who made fun of you?"

King Neptune squeaked as he spoke.

"The whole, entire universe," he began to cry again, "Everyone made fun of me because I liked aquatic life, and that I raised fish like my own children, and that I believed in mermaids, and that I spoke to the dishwater."

Sakura, a bit confused about why he spoke to dishwater,sighed.

"Some people are just cruel, simply because they can be."

A painful memory suddenly stung her.

"When I was little, kids made fun of me for having a big forehead."She said, barely above a whisper.

King Neptune sniffled.

"But-but, you don't."

Sakura smiled.

"Thankyou, it really hurt my feelings when they said that."

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Flashback

Sakura played with a ball all alone. She was a very shy little girl, and it terrified her to think of asking someone to play with her. As she bounced her rubber, and only, friend up and down, a raven haired boy raced by. He stopped and stared at her. She smiled, a bit awkwardly. He frowned.

"I hate big foreheads."

And with that, he was gone.

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King Neptune patted Sakura's head.

"You don't have the big forehead, you're frowning sad-clown friend had the biggest, most enormous nose I've ever seen, though."

Sakura giggled.

"Yah..."

The king, smiling now, untied Sakura.

"You know what, I like you a lot more than I did only an hour ago, will you be my friend,Sakura?"

Sakura, looking very skeptical, forced herself to nod.

"Sure, King-um,"

"It's Joel, just Joel."

Sakura smiled again.

"Of course, Joel, if you'll be mine."

They shook hands, and began to giggle again.

Meanwhile, the group determined to save a no-longer damsil in distress, saw the open, foggy hole.

"I hate mysterious entrances." Sasuke groaned, already climbing in.

The others gulped and followed him. Poor Naruto had a wet, sticky, flossed ass stuck to the side of his face as they all crammed down at once.

"Now, remember guys, when we rescue Sakura, only I can kiss her." Naruto said.

Terry laughed.

"Sure, leave us to handle the burger nut." He said.

"Remember, a ninja never uses the word 'nut'," Kakashi said, "we prefer mentally inbalanced."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I prefer loser high school drop-out who found nothing better to do with his life than to flip burgers in the blazing sun, go home and weep his insanity away, than absorb the ocean theme from his miserable job, and use it as his only prevention from either suicide or steal hub-caps."

Everyone sighed. Kakashi reached down to pull out another wedgie, but was too squished to do so. Everyone began to squirm. Sasuke, the closest one to the bottom, dangled his legs helplessly.

"I hate awkward, helpless, positions." He groaned.

Suddenly, something grabbed Sasuke's feet, and jerked them downwards. Sasuke grabbed onto the outlining board of the hole.

"What?!"

It hissed.

"Human."

"Uh-oh."

Sasuke prepared for the worse, as he let go...

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Author's note: One more chappie to go! I'm working on it! I hope this fic isn't losing it's humor, but work and Christmas shopping has really left me drained. Thanks you guys! I love you, marry me!