Flink grit her teeth as she continued to swing at Keto, who consistently managed to avoid the onslaught of whip lashes aimed at him. For someone of his size he moved with a remarkable amount of agility. Or rather… it was like he was moving one step ahead of her strikes.

Keto grunted as he moved aside, and then charged at her. "Honestly, for a being who doesn't even come from this dimension and is sticking their nose in the business of the Waterfolk kingdom, you sure are persistent," he said, reaching out to grab her. Flink moved out of the way, still very much having the advantage of speed.

"But tenacity will only get you so far!" Keto shouted, jumping up after her. Flink moved to the side to avoid him, but Keto focused his gaze on her.

Flink felt a strange sensation, but moved once more. Keto looked annoyed as he landed back down on the ground. She honestly couldn't tell for sure but she had a hunch he had an ability similar to Maria's. Something that involved sonar. Judging by the way he was focusing on her and how annoyed he looked when she moved, she was pretty sure that she was right.

And even if she wasn't, it was better not to take any chances.

"You've been dead, so maybe don't act like you know how involved I am with the Waterfolk kingdom, or whether this is really my fight or not. The fact is I'm here, and there's nothing to do about it now but my job," Flink said, swinging at him again.

Keto once more managed to avoid the short flurry of attacks, further adding to Flink's thoughts about his sonar ability. "I suppose that's true. Whether or not you belong here, we're doomed to fight. Just be aware that I couldn't hold back even if I wanted to."

"I know," Flink said simply. "Now that I need you to!"

She flew in, swinging at him with her whips. She switched them into their electricity mode and swung even faster than before, hoping the change in speed would throw him off. It seemed to work as he was struggling a fair bit harder to avoid them, and one of them managed to land a hit on his shoulder.

Flink tried to move in closer, taking advantage of the opportunity. Her whips would deactivate someone's ability to use magic, even if only for a short time. And with his sonar presumably off her chances of capitalizing on it shot up. Before she could get too close however, Keto raised his fists and then punched the ground. The force of the blow shook the ground, and sent Flink flying back.

She scowled as Keto stood back up and smirked at her, having lost what ground she made towards him. "Did you think I didn't notice what your weapons were doing? I won't allow you to get close to me when I'm without my magic," he said.

"So, you did notice. Not the big dumb type after all," Flink said.

"I was the former captain of the Kelpbottom family's royal guard. It'd be shameful of me to bring outwitted by the likes of you."

Flink sighed before cracking both whips again. "So you're not gonna make this easy for me. Well that's fine," she said, getting ready to move in again. "I'm the lieutenant of the Queensguard's sixth division. That's worth more than whatever title you used to drag around."

Keto grunted before raising his hand. "Is that right? Well, we're going to just have to put that to the test then." Flink watched as he pulled his hand back, and she heard water stirring behind her. She quickly moved out of the way before multiple streams of water moved past her.

It moved to Keto's hand, and the waterfolk whale smirked as it shaped into a sphere. He opened his mouth and then bit down on it, then his eyes began to narrow and focus as he leaned forward. The pixie was quick, but he doubted she would be quick enough to avoid this.

He took in a deep breath, and then suddenly a blast of water shot out from the blowhole on his head. Flink's eyes went wide, but she managed to move out of the way before it struck her. Keto fired another one, and then another, and Flink found herself having to move quickly to avoid them.

The blasts weren't that big, but they were quick and pressurized, making them pack a lot of power. "Not bad, you really are a quick one. But try this one…" Keto took another deep breath, and then fired again. But this time multiple blasts of water shot out at once.

Flink was caught off guard, but quickly tried to move out of the way. But unfortunately she wasn't able to avoid them all. Two of the blasts of water hit her, one in the shoulder, and the other in his leg. She winced in pain, falling towards the ground. Keto smirked as he rushed in towards her. He had used his sonar to nail down how she would move in fired in her likeliest escape routes, and it had paid off.

Flink tried to get back up and get back into the air, but Keto was already looming over her. He swung his arm, and though Flink managed to get moving, he winged her and sent her flying off. She hit the ground and slid back, wincing in pain.

Keto grunted as he looked down at her. "Down and out already? I suppose I shouldn't have expected someone who wasn't a waterfolk to-"

"Shut your trap already," Flink said, looking annoyed. She pushed herself back up to her feet and claimed her weapons once more. "You think a little tap like that is enough to beat me? Compared to my captain, you're an absolute lightweight."

Keto grunted. "Is that right? Well then, I suppose I'll have to put my back into the next one then," he said, raising his hand and bringing more water towards him.

Flink crouched down and got ready to rush towards him. "There isn't going to be a next time," she said, narrowing her eyes. She was going to end this here. No dodging or maneuvering around this. She was just going to face him head on. That's how her division did things after all.

Keto swallowed the water and then took another breath, getting ready to fire again. Flink zipped forward, headed straight towards him and ignoring the pain where she'd been hit earlier. Keto was a little surprised that she really was just making a beeline for him. He fired a blast of water directly at her.

Flink brought her arm back and swung her whip, slicing right through the blast and dispersing it. Keto's eyes widened, and he fired another. Flink did the same, knocking it away with her other whip. Keto growled and then took an even deeper breath.

He fired multiple blasts as one, concentrating them towards close together so they all aimed towards Flink. The pixie began swinging both whips at a blinding speed, knocking them aside and dispersing them. A few managed to slip through, but none of them actually hit, just barely whizzing by her.

Flink kept moving towards him. He hadn't been the only one getting down with the other's tactics. After seeing those blasts so many time she was certain she had nailed the timing down.

"Impressive," Keto said, taking a step back. Flink was quickly closing in on him. Fortunately she was stepping within the range of his sonar. Once she got closed enough he would blasts her point blank and then-

CRACK!

Keto's eyes went wide as the whip just barely grazed his shoulder. Flink had swung, and the literally tip of the weapon he managed to make contact with. "What?! How did-!"

"My division specializes in holding our ground and making weapons and armor! Of course I know my weapons inside and out! I know their range and reach, down to the millimeter!" she yelled as she stopped in front of him. She raised both arms and prepared to strike. "And now…"

Keto growled and lunged towards her, trying to land another hit before she could go on the attack, but he was too late.

Flink began swinging, and though he'd tried to power through the sheer amount of speed of the attacks made him recoil and go on the defensive. He covered himself with his arms as the whips came down like a swarm of bees. He felt like he was getting attacked from every single direction at one.

Flink yelled as she kept swinging, faster and faster. Keto didn't even have a moment to try and recover, and he was slowly being covered in lashes and cuts. He was sturdy and tough, so she was going to have to chip away at his defenses.

Although everyone watching would hardly consider it 'slow' by any means.

Keto grit his teeth and tried to move forward, deciding to take a few hits to bring an end to the onslaught. But this proved to be a mistake. The moment he moved his arms the attack felt ten times worse, and his chest was barraged by the stinging attacks.

"HIYA!"

Flink raised both arms, swinging both whips down at the same time and landing them both in an X formation over Keto's chest. The waterfolk yelled out as a large deep cut formed over his chest. He stumbled back, his blood spilling down onto the ground.

Flink watched him closely, getting ready to attack again if he made a move. "Your division must be quite the impressive one girl…" Keto said, struggling to stay on his feet. "If a tiny little thing like you can produce this much strength…"

He fell back, crashing onto the ground and beginning to disappear. Flink watched him as he slowly began to vanish, and then let out a relieved breath. "I have to hand it to you, you were one tough old geezer," she said.

Keto grunted. "I'm not that old…" Though if he wasn't being honest, he felt a lot older than he was. This was the second time some young upstart of a girl had managed to topple him.

He guessed his era really was up.

Lenora quickly moved out of the way as Gup hurled the anchor at her again. The young looking waterfolk smiled as he pulled the chain back, swinging it around him. "Stand still kitty cat! I want to give you a gift!" he called, letting out a childlike laugh.

The beastkin girl growled in annoyance. For someone who lugged around such a weighty weapon, he was quick on his feet. Even with her speed she had a hard time getting in close to him. Not to mention he was sturdy just by way of being Waterfolk. She was going to have to think carefully about this.

Which she hated to do!

"You little runt…" she said before rushing in at him.

Gup laughed and then threw the anchor at her. "Yay, you're coming right here! This'll make things easy!" Lenora jumped up over the anchor and landed down on the chain, running across it and rushing at him again. "Oh, not bad! But I can do this!"

He grabbed the chain and began twirling it around his wrist, and the slow movement caused the rest of it to loop around, surrounding Lenora. She slipped from between them before they could catched her, continued towards him and circling around so she could strike from behind.

Gup turned around and swung at her, and though Lenora managed to block it, she was sent flying back. She landed on her feet and slid, wincing in the pain that was now in her arms. She should have expected him to be strong given how easily he threw that anchor around. But it was still surprising for someone so small to be so powerful.

"You really are a quick one," Gup said, tilting his head. "But it's going to be worth it when I catch you. Just out of curiosity, is there anybody who's house you'd like me to leave the gift at? I like to make them personal and sentimental."

Lenora grit her teeth, her clawing digging into the ground. "You little… you think a stupid little fish like you can actually kill me?! I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!" she shouted, sparks crackling around her body.

Gup hummed. "Wow, you're an angry one aren't you? But that's okay. I'm just excited I get to wrap up someone outside of the kingdom for once," he said, hurling the anchor at her again. Lenora moved out of the way and rushed in again.

She ducked and dodged Gup's attacks, managing to quickly close the distance between them. She looked like she was going to move in and strike again, and Gup got ready to strike back. But suddenly, Lenora stopped just outside of his range. She raised both of her hands and smirked. "Fry, you little shit…"

From this range she could hit him with her electricity, and she had built up enough to pack quite a punch at this point.

Before she could however, Gup smirked back at her. "You're in range…" Something suddenly shot out from his sleeve, and Lenora felt a sharp pain in her side. She winced and then looked down to see… was that seaweed? But how? It felt like a sword was sticking into her right now.

More of it shot out from his other sleeve and shirt, but Lenora quickly moved back and out of the way. She covered her wound as she glared at him.

"Aw, you got away," Gup said, frowning. "You really are a fast one. That almost always kills people the first time."

He pulled the anchor back to him and then slung it over his shoulder at the seaweed retreated back into his clothes. "I bet you thought my magic had something to do with the anchor, didn't you?" he asked slyly. "Nope! Nope! Nope! It's all about the seaweed! You can jump around all you want, and get as close as you like! But you're never gonna be able to touch me!"

Lenora looked annoyed. So that was how he was playing it huh? Lure people to try and attack him up close and then finish them off with that hardened seaweed trick. "Do you want to give up now, or would you rather keep going? I hope you do. People's faces are always so much more interesting after they've tired out."

Lenora fumed, looking like she was about to rush in again, but suddenly another figure dived down towards Gup. The Waterfolk moved out of the ray right before Ray Sabers could land a blow on him. "Ha-ha-ha! You're a cocky little shit aren't you? You really think a weakling like you could kill my daughter?!"

Gup looked up towards him, surprised. "Oh, are you her father?" he asked. "If you survive the battle, I guess I should deliver the gift to you then."

Ray stood up, towering over the boy, and smirked. "The only gift that's going to be delivered is my baby girl's fists in your stupid little face," he said, crossing his arms.

Lenora sighed and rolled her eyes. "Daddy…"

Gup looked excited as he raised his anchor again. "You know, I don't think I've ever gifted both a parent and child before. This will make a really nice gift," he said. "Which one of you should I kill first though? I guess if you both attacked me then-"

"Oh, don't misread me, you little piss stain. I'm not here to fight you. I'm just here to watch my daughter wipe the floor with your sorry butt," Ray said proudly. "If you honestly think the oldest of my litter would lose to the likes of you… well, it's no wonder you went and managed to get yourself killed."

Gup looked confused. "But… I wasn't killed."

"You will be!" He turned back towards his daughter and then stomped his foot. "Lenora, stop playing around with this little guppy and show him what the beastskin tribe can really do! I've watched you wrangle the rest of your litter together easily, so dealing with this one should be nothing."

Lanora groaned. "I know dad, I can handle it. I didn't need a pep talk…"

"Well I gave you one anyway! Because I'm your father! Ha-ha-ha!"

Lenora ignored him and turned back towards Gup, who seemed a little caught off guard by the older beastskin. "You sure are strange," he said before looking back to Lenora. "Are you sure you don't want to fight me together? I mean, you're both going to die anyway, but it might be more-"

"Shut the hell up you little shit," Lenora said, crouching down onto the ground. "I'm done playing around with you. It's time to end this." She hadn't wanted to use this so soon, but she didn't have time to keep wasting on this guy.

Gup raised an eyebrow as Lenora let out a low growl. There were sparks going off around her, and her hair and fur began standing on edge, looking sharp and jagged. Her eyes turned sharp, and her claws and fangs began to grow slightly. She looked like a wild animal.

"Huh, what's this now?" Gup asked curiously. "Is this supposed to be-"

Lenora suddenly seemed to vanish, and Gup felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He stumbled back, looking down at the cut that was now on him. "What the-?!"

He saw a blur from the corner of his eye, and quickly turned around and swung the anchor at it. Lenora moved out of the way and then spun around, kicking him in the chest. Gup flew back, hitting the ground and sliding back. She was fast! Way too fast! How could she have grown this much quicker out of nowhere?

Gup quickly got up and grabbed the chain of his anchor, trying to pull the weapon back towards him. But before he could, Lenora reached down and caught it. Gup tried yanking it from her grasp, but Lenora's grip was ironclad. "What the-?!" There was no way she was stronger than him! He knocked her aside so easily before! So how?!

"I told you I was done playing around with you…" Lenora said before gripping the chain tightly. Electricity suddenly shot from her body, traveling up the chain and right to Gup.

The waterfolk's eyes went wide as he was shocked, and then stumbled back in pain. Lenora ripped the chain from the anchor and then moved in. Gup managed to gather himself right as she was coming down upon him. He quickly shot seaweed from his sleeve, but before it made contact Lenora swung down and slashed it into pieces.

Gup didn't even have time to look panicked before she swung again, scratching him right across the face. "AAAAHHHH!" Gup fell back and grabbed his now bleeding face.

"You scratched me! It hurts! I-I'm bleeding!"

Lenora stepped on his chest and pinned him down, looming over him. "If that the first time you've ever bled?" Lenora asked, smirking down at him evilly. "Don't worry… you'll get used to it…" She raised both of her claws up.

"Wait! Wait! I give up! I learned my lesson!" he said, holding his hands up as tears form in his eyes. Despite his actually age and strength, he still very much looked like a child, and everyone always hesitated when he began pleading. In that moment he could strike back and-

SLASH!

"GAAAAHHH!"

Lenora slashed down at him again, this time taking off his left arm. Lenora narrowed his eyes down at him. "You lying little shit…" she said, pressing her foot down harder and generating more electricity. Not enough to kill him, but enough to keep him from moving.

"What did Maria say you used to do? Wrap people up and leave them around as gifts?" she asked, leaning over him. "Who's gift do you want to get? Because believe me, there's going to be more than enough pieces to go around…"

Gup felt a wave of fear wash over him as Lenora opened her jaws and prepared to, quite literally, tear him apart. "You fucking monster!" he yelled, trying to use his remaining arm to push her away.

Lenora didn't even budge. "No shit!"

Those who were watching the battle all looked away as Lenora began mauling him, biting, scratching, and clawing away at him with a savage intent. In her beast from her strength, speed, and killer instinct were all enhanced. But she certainly wasn't lost enough not to drag it out like he deserved.

The only one who didn't look away from the scene however was Ray, who just smiled proudly down at his daughter. "That's my baby girl!"

Scylla scowled as he looked down from her spot above the battlefield. She couldn't believe that Keto and Gup both went down. Then again, they were Waterfolk. So she should have expected them to disappoint her.

She got up to her feet and then cracked her neck. Well, she supposed she was just going to have to step in and take over until Kamon finished up with the royal heirs. She jumped down towards the battlefield, a determined look on her face. One way or another, the Waterfolk kingdom was going to fall today.

Meanwhile, down under the water Maria groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. She recalled what had happened before she blacked out and… his eyes shot open. She quickly looked around trying to spot either her brother or the enemy that had appeared before them.

She found the former rather quickly.

Hody's motionless body floated a few feet away from her, and she felt her blood run cold. "Hody! Hody?!" she called swimming towards him.

"Hmm, you're still conscious. Impressive…"

Maria stopped, and then turned around to see the figure from earlier swimming nearby. He was holding some kind of… glowing orb. She quickly went on guard and glared at him. "What did you do to my brother?!" she demanded.

Kamon looked over the orb in his hands. "He's still alive… for now," he said, before looking back up towards her. "Though I won't be able to say the same to either of you for very much longer."

A/N: Flink manages to take down Keto, and Lenora brings down Gup! But now Scylla is going to take to the battlefield, and the Kelpbottom siblings still have to deal with Kamon! What's happened to Hody, and is Maria going to be able to help him out and hold her own?! They'd better hurry if they're going to stand a chance!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!