Maria watched Kamon closely as he circled around her and the lifeless body of her brother. She very much wanted to check on Hody and make sure he was okay, but she didn't dare take her eyes off of the enemy before her. Hody was tough. Surely… surely if she was alive, he must be too.

But he had done something to them. Something she couldn't really remember. And where had he gotten that orb he was holding. Did that have something to do with it?

"I'm a little curious as to how you resisted my magical ability," Kamon said, sounding genuinely confused. Her brother had been knocked right out, but she had woken up just a few moments later.

Maria gripped her trident tightly. "What did you do?!" she demanded.

Kamon simply stared back at her, saying nothing. He grunted before holding his hand up. "Despair." He focused on her intently, and Maria braced herself.

Kamon's ability allowed him to alter the state of someone's negative emotions. Whether it was making them drown in dread or sorrow, or making them completely devoid of it.

Once her brother had been hit by the wave of negativity, he had been helpless and unable to do a thing. Which meant putting him under his magic was a simple task. The orb he was holding contained Hody's soul, and though it he could see him sinking deeper and deeper into the grief filled illusion he was in.

He didn't know how his sister managed to avoid it last time, but he intended to correct that mishap here and now.

His intentions however didn't pan out, and the effect of his magic seemed to be even more minimal than last time. Maria barely even flinched. "What… what did you do just now?" Maria asked, feeling just a tad lightheaded.

Kamon looked at her wide eyed. "You can resist my magic? But how?" he asked.

Maria shook her head, not knowing exactly how herself. What she did know however was that she needed to stop this guy. If he was the one behind Hody being out cold she had to figure out how to throw him off and snap him out of it.

She moved towards him, bringing her trident back and getting ready to jab at him. Kamon saw her coming and raised his harpoon to defend himself. Maria stabbed at him, but he knocked it aside, still trying to focus on her with his magic. Once again Maria barely seemed to feel anything, and pressed on the attack.

She thrust and swung her trident at him repeatedly, and Kamon continued to parry and deflect them with his harpoon. Why wouldn't his ability not work on her?

Maria pressed on with her attack, trying to get down his movement. She noticed that he was being defensive of the orb he held in his hands. She was sure that he didn't have it before. Did it have something to do with his magical ability? Or what had happened to Hody? She wasn't sure, but she was going to find out.

The princess jabbed at him once more, and then he moved to the side she reached out and tried to snatch the orb away from him.

Kamon quickly pulled it away from her reach, narrowing his eyes. "You didn't honestly think it would be that easy, did you?" he asked, bringing his arm back and thrusting his harpoon at her.

Maria just barely managed to move out of the way, and she could feel the sheer force behind the harpoon behind the attack. In terms of strength she was definitely outmatched here. But she couldn't afford to back down now. She just had to be on her toes and keep going.

Kamon hummed as Maria came at him again. "I'm not entirely sure why you won't despair, but that just means I'll have to put an end to you the old fashioned way," he said, preparing to attack. "Would it could only be your ancestors…"

Maria braced herself. "What exactly did my ancestors even do to you?" she asked. It wasn't as if she couldn't believe her family hadn't done anything terrible in their entire history, but for him and this Scylla to hate them so much, she wondered what exactly it had to be.

"There's too many sins to count, and too few hours in the day," he said before rushing at her. Maria just barely managed to block the jab, and it sent her backwards. She tried to steady herself, but Kamon was already on her again. "Out of all you mewmans, you Waterfolk are the worst."

He swung down at her, and Maria again just barely managed to block it. "The other mewmans at least wear their vileness on their sleeve. But you lot? You act as if you're somehow better than the others. As if you have no atrocities in your history to speak of," he stated.

Maria managed to pushed him away, and then tried to get some distance. "I don't know what you're talking about!" she said, forming a twisting in the water beside her and flinging it towards him.

Kamon grunted. "You wouldn't…" He raised his harpoon and then swung down, cleaving the twisted clear in two. "I'm sure with all the generations that have passed you wouldn't have a clue of your own people's history. Especially with how you bury any and everything that would sully it."

Maria held her around, holding both of her arms out and forming two more twisters. "I don't know what happened to you, or what my people did! But whatever sins they committed shouldn't be held against us! We're not them!"

"Then who should it be held again?!" Kamon yelled, swimming towards her at a blinding speed. She hurled the twisters at him, but he nimbly swam between them and spun his harpoon around before swinging at her. Maria began blocking the flurry of attacks, but it was clear she could just barely keep up.

"Who should answer for the life of my mother?! And my people?! For what happened to Scylla, and every other monster they mistreated!" he yelled. "You're people's burdens, their sins, are yours to bear! Whether you like it or not! I will return all the despair and misery you've forced onto others tenfold!"

He swung upwards, breaking through Maria's guard and sending her backward. Kamon moved in for the kill shot, but then Maria narrowed her eyes.

She used Siren's Screech.

With Kamon being right in front of her, the effects were immediately. His eyes went wide, and he reached up and grabbed his head in pain. His teeth grit and then glared towards her. What in the world was that?

Maria tried to take the chance to counterattack, but when she stabbed at him he reached up and managed to grab just below the head of her trident, stopping her in her track. He raised his harpoon with his other hand. "Annoyance…" he muttered.

Maria looked panicked, but just before he attack, Kamon realized something. He was using two hands right now. One to hold off her weapon, and the others to strike back. He had been holding the orb earlier, but it was gone now! He hadn't noticed after that attack of hers, but it vanished! How?!

"YOU BASTARD!"

Kamon felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He grunted in pain and then looked over to see Hody, biting down onto him. His eyes were blood red, and he looked absolutely livid. Kamon reached up and tried to pry his jaws open, but Hody was locked in.

His anger wasn't really at all surprising considering what he'd been through. A horrible nightmare what he had been sinking deeper and deeper into. One in which he watched all the people closest to him slaughtered, over and over, and over again. His parents, his sister, Topaz, and Twister.

The moment he had snapped out of it and realized what had happened, he was furious. And all he'd wanted to do was destroy the cause of this misery and pain he felt. When he saw Kamon going after his baby sister, he knew just who that was. Kamon continued to struggle at Hody bit down deeper, blood beginning to cloud up in the water.

How had Hody managed to break free from his control? Had it been that girl's abilities? He didn't understand. Rattling him was one thing, but how would it have freed her brother? Hody bit down harder, and Kamon raised his harpoon and swung it towards him.

Hody was forced to let go and back away, but he moved in again almost right after. Kemon turned and tried to use his ability once more, knowing that it would at least work on Hody again, but then felt a pain ringing through his head. Maria had once again used Siren's Screech.

Kamon tried to ignore the pain in his head and focus, managed to parry the thrust and Hody sent his way with his trident. This one was far more powerful than his sister was, and he had to put some considerable effort into holding his ground.

He tried to use his ability once more, but Maria moved in and stabbed at him from behind. He reached up and caught her trident again, but before he could even think about striking back, Hody pressed forward with his own attack. Kamon found himself pincered between the Kelpbottom siblings, struggling to hold both back.

Maria narrowed her eyes again, and for a third time used the Siren's Screech. Kamon looked as if he was going to lose his grip at any moment, but he held firm.

"I… I refuse to fall…" he said, pushing back with a monstrous resolve. "Not until you're made to pay. Not until everyone is avenged."

Hody just growled back, while Maria simply did her best not to let up. "Even in death all you can think about is revenge?" she asked. "Wasn't there anything else you thought was worth coming back and living for? No friends? Not family? Just killing everyone you've felt has wronged you?"

"You took too many important things from me, and you spend the remainder of my life trying to take all I had left! I refuse to just let it go!"

Maria frowned, growing a saddened look on her face. "That's… terrible."

Kamon narrowed his eyes towards her, getting ready to snap back angrily, but then suddenly… he felt odd. Was he… was he crying?

The moment his concentration loosened, Hody pushed forward, driving his trident right through Kamon's chest. The undead warrior's eyes went wide, and Hody twisted the trident for good measure before pulling it back out. Kamon fell back, sinking downwards as he clutched the very open wound in his chest.

He narrowed his eyes towards them as he fell deeper and deeper into the water. Hody still have a look of anger on his face, while Maria's was a more sympathetic one. He reached up towards them, still feeling more than a little bitter. He had wanted to end the Kelpbottom line.

He wanted his revenge. He wanted to keep fighting alongside Scylla and the others, even if only for a little while. But here he was slowly going to his death for a second time, and again at the hands of mewmans.

"I hope you find peace this time…" Maria muttered sadly.

As Kamon continued to sink down, another feeling began budding in his chest. This time it wasn't anger and bitterness, but… just a hint of contentment. He didn't know why he was feeling it right now. He had no reason to. But… it felt pleasant.

Hody and Maria rose up from the water and quickly began making their way back to land. Though they couldn't tell how the fight had been going from so deep down below, they knew it was best if they rejoined the others as quickly as they could. "Well, the others didn't come down to check on us or finish us off, so those lot at least have managed to hold out this long," Hody said.

Maria hummed. "Or she was just that confident that one would finish us off. The way he talked about her made it seem like they were close," Maria reasoned.

Hody grunted, knowing she had a point. He'd like to think Flink and Lenora were strong enough to hold their own until he got back. But he knew how strong Keto was, and if that other one had some strange ability as well…

They reached land, seeing that the battle was still going on. They both grabbed their weapons and prepared to join the fray, when suddenly something came flying towards them. They both out of the way just before Ray crashed into them, sliding against the ground.

Maria quickly turned to check on him, and saw the chief grunting as he held his side in pain. "Ugh… she really is a tough one…" he muttered.

"Are you alright?! Here, let me-"

"Forget about me," Ray said, holding up his hand. "Go and help my daughter and the pixie. They're going to need all the help they can get against Scylla."

Hody and Maria shared a glance. So Scylla had already joined the battle. That meant that Lenora and Flink must have managed to take down the others. Still, having to deal with her would be a completely different hurdle entirely. They rushed over towards where Ray had come flying from, and it didn't take them long to spot their target.

Flink and Lenora both stood off against Scylla, looking more than a little exhausted. Their armor was dented and batter, and they were struggling to catch their breath. Scylla on the other hand had an amused smirk on her face. "Are you two done yet? Because I'm only just starting to get warmed up," she said.

"Bitch!" Lenora growled, looking furious.

Flink held her hand up, warning her not to go rushing in. Nothing that they threw at Scylla seemed to work. At best she just shrugged it off, and at worst she sent it right back at them. "Scylla!"

The titan looked up and saw Hody and Maria running towards her, and a frown made it's way across her face. "You survived…" she muttered. That Keto and Gup fell was disappointing, but acceptable. But Kamon? How had he managed to lose against these… these weaklings?

Her anger flared up at the thought of her fallen friend, and she balled all six of her fists up. "Playtime is over. I have royals to kill," she said, raising her hand.

She pulled a massive stream of water from the ocean and then sent it towards Lenora and Flink. The two knights braced themselves to be swamped by it, but Maria slid in front of them and then redirected the flow of water. It took quite some effort, but she led it back towards Scylla, who simply scoffed and waved her hand.

The water dispersed, raining down all around them. "We've been over this princess. My control over water is better than yours," she said, moving in to attack. Hody rushed her from her blinde spot, raising his trident and aiming at her neck. Scylla reached up and caught it without even looking. "And I'm stronger than you…"

Hody growled and tried to press forward. He was still partly bloodlusted from earlier, and if there was any time to call on the added strength, it was now.

Scylla didn't budge however. She turned towards him and began walking, forcing him back. "You really are like some kind of bug that just won't die. But I'm going to make sure to squash you this time," she said, reaching forward and grabbing him by the throat. Hody grit his teeth and reached up with his other hand to try and pry her off, but two moves of her arms sprung up and caught his arm.

Maria acted quickly, bringing her trident back and hurling it at Scylla. The titan casually swatted it away, but while her attention was away, Hody managed to slip loosed and then lunged at her, biting at her throat. Hody locked on, biting down at hard as he could and attempting to literally rip her throat out.

For a moment it looked as if he was going to end it, but then Scylla calmly and casually reached up and grabbed the top and bottom of his jaw. "You don't just running around biting girl's necks, you fucking creep," she said, slowly prying his mouth open.

Hody looked stunned. No one, not even Astro, had been able to so casually unclench his jaw before. Scylla made it look so effortless. "You seem awfully proud of this teeth of yours," she said, continuing to pull his jaw wider and wider. "After I break your jaw open, I should pluck them out…"

"Hody!"

"Shit!"

Maria, Lenora, and Flink all moved in to help. The latter two reached Scylla first. Lenora jumped up and kicked at her, while Flink spun around and aimed her whips at Scylla's head. The titan raised two of her arms, blocking Lenora kick with one and catching both whips in the other.

"And you two… why help this piece of garbage?" she asked. "Your a beatskin. Your people have been mistreated by mewmans for who knows how long. And you pixie, this isn't even your dimension. You two, the fire nymph, and others. What is it about these pieces of shit that make you stick your neck out for them? Have all these years being under their boot given you brain rot?"

Lenora tried to pull herself free, but Scylla didn't let go. She pulled on Flink's whips, yanking the pixie towards them, then lifted Lenora and slammed her down on top of her. "The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because Typhon idiot of a son is probably what's convincing you to fight. And I don't want to have to spill anymore monster blood if I don't have to." Scylla then turned towards Hody. "You on the other hand…"

She fused her right arms together and then raised it, getting ready to bring it down on Hody's face. But just before she swung, Maria reached her. "Let him go!" she yelled, getting right in front of her. For the fourth time, she used Siren's Screech point blank.

Scylla's eyes went wide, and though Maria's head felt like it was killing her, she managed to raise her weapon which she'd reclaimed while rushing over, and stabbed at her. Hody did the same, this time aiming at Scylla's head instead of her arms.

Right when it looked as if the siblings were going to run her through, Scylla reached up and stopped both tridents dead in their tracks. She smirked towards Maria. "I've already gotten used to that little trick, princess," she said. "But it looks like you haven't. How about another taste?"

She prepared to fire the Siren's Screech right back at her, but then Hody moved in between them. He threw a punched and hit Scylla in the face, but again, she didn't flinch. "You're embarrassing yourself. Feel free to keep going," she said, punching right back. Hody crashed into Maria and the two hit the ground and slid back.

Scylla looked somewhat amused, and began walking towards them again, but then noticed something. She reached up and felt her left ear. "What…?" Her earring was missing. Her earring was missing!

"I hope you don't mind. But seeing as you stole this from our family anyway, I thought I might as well take them back," Hody said, smirking as he pushed himself up to his feet. He held up the missing earring, and Scylla's eyes went wide.

"Give it back!" she said, stomping towards him. "GIVE IT BACK!"

Hody formed a thin layer of water around himself and increased its density, bracing himself for her. "It was never yours to begin with! These are relics of the Kelpbottom family! They were never meant to be worn by the likes of you!"

Scylla yelled as she swung at him, breaking right through the layer of water he'd covered himself with and knocking the air out of his lungs. "They're mine you piece of shit!" she shouted, knocking him to the ground. Hody didn't even get the chance to try and get up before she was on top of him.

He raised his arms to cover himself as she swung down at him. Though he blocked it, he felt as if his arm was going to snap at the sheer force of it. "T-they belong-!"

"They belong to ME!" Scylla yelled. "They're mine! They've always been mine! They're my gift! My birthright!"

Hody winced in pain as she kept punching, feeling more than a little confused. Just what the hell was she on about right now? She reached down and grabbed his wrist, and for a moment he thought she would break it. But she pried his hand open and took the earrings back, quickly putting them back into her ear.

She let out a breath of relief, and then glared back down at him. "Your family, your stupid people, are nothing but a bunch of liars and thieves. You're never going to steal anything else from me or anyone else again," she said.

Hody coughed and then glared at her. "You're out of your mind…"

Scylla grit her teeth, and then reached down and grabbed his throat again. "I'm going to kill you. Slowly. So I can watch the life leave your eyes. But before I do, I'm going to let you in on a little secret," she leaned in closer and then muttered into his ear. "These earrings aren't the only thing that are mine. Your status, your fame, your title and even your throne, they all belong to me."

Hody looked at her in disbelief. "What… what are you babbling about?"

Scylla looked him in the eyes. "Your kingdom buries anything they think will sully their perfect little image. Anything that will make people talk about them in a way they don't want. And a half-breed princess? Well, they couldn't have that, could they?"

Hody grit his teeth as he glared back at her. "You're lying!" he snapped. "You don't actually expect me to believe that you… you're no Kelpbottom! You're just an angry thief who wanted to bring down-"

Scylla tightened her grip on his throat, silencing him. "You can believe whatever you want to believe. It really wouldn't surprise me if you couldn't accept it. Denying the truth is in your DNA," she said. "But it really doesn't matter either way. Because I'm going to destroy it all."

"I'm the last gift from my mother to her wretched family. And I'm going to make sure everybody who turned their back on us pays for it. My father, her family, the kingdom. All of it. So at the very least, you can die knowing that you're not going down alone."

Hody growled and then reached up, once again trying to pry her hands away from his throat. He didn't believe this. He… he couldn't believe this. To accept this would be to accept that everything his family had built was a lie. Their entire legacy.

Scylla smiled to herself as she watched his struggle, and slowly began to apply more and more pressure to her chokehold. "That's right. Let it all sink it," she said. "I want the last thing you feel before you die to be the shame of knowing everything that you are is a lie."

"It's not a lie!"

Scylla looked away from Hody and towards Maria, who was trying to fail to push herself up to her feet. Scylla scoffed. "Wait your turn princess…"

Maria glared back at her. "Even if what you're saying is true, it's not a lie! My brother… he's made more than his fair share of mistakes! But he's also worked to fix them! He's worked to help and protect our people! He's worked to make our kingdom better! None of that was a lie!" she shouted angrily.

Scylla narrowed her eyes at her. "Yeah, he poured all that work in to help a bunch of shitty liars and secret keepers. How noble of him."

"The people who wronged you died years ago! They have nothing to do with the people who are running the kingdom today!" Maria argued. "And don't think I'm excusing them either! We've all made our fair share of mistakes! But instead of just killing everyone, we're working to change things!"

Scylla let go of Hody, and then got up and began stomping towards her. "You even dumber than he is if you think there's a chance of things getting better! You've been doing the same thing for over a thousand years! You think just because you say a few pretty words and cry a few tears they'll suddenly want to change?!"

"Trying to make change is better than just doing nothing!"

"I'm not doing nothing! I'm getting rid of it all!"

"And killing countless innocent people along with it!" Maria snapped back. "You think your suffering makes it okay for you to make others suffer! It doesn't! You and the Ten are doing to everyone else what you claimed our kingdom did to you! You're just not keeping it a secret!"

Scylla felt her blood boiling, and she reached out and grabbed Maria by the throat. "And what would you know about it?! You, a sheltered little princess who's probably never had to suffer a day in your life!" she said, lifting her up off the ground.

"Maria!" Hody tried to get up and moved towards them, and Lanora and Flink did the same. But Scylla moved her hand, causing a wave of water to move around them and cut them off. She increased the density so not even Hody could get through.

Maria glared at Scylla, not looking away for a moment. "I know I want it to stop. And I'm actually doing something about it. You can't kill every mewman, not matter how hard you try. Someone will escape, or survive, and come back. They might kill you, or they might not. But the war is never going to end like this. Never," she said.

"Then let them come. I'll keep killing anyone who threatens me or anybody I care about. I take down everyone in this whole dimension If I have to."

Maria smirked down towards her. "You sound awfully mewman…"

Scylla's eyes went wide, and then a look of fury took over her face. "You little…" she said her other arms and looked ready to strike, but then suddenly stopped. A strange look crossed over her face, and then looked irritated. "Yes, I heard you but… but I have them! I have them both!" she said.

Maria and the others looked confused. "Just give me a few more minutes! I can finish them all off and then…" Whatever unheard voice Scylla seemed to be talking to had said something that made her stop mid sentence. She grew a serious look on her face and then grunted before throwing Maria to the ground.

"You're lucky princess. You and your brother get to live for one more day," Scylla said, raising all six of her arms. A massive wave rose up from the ocean and headed down towards them. "But next time I swear, I'll kill you both. And you're going to see all the nonsense you're spouting is just that. Nonsense."

Everyone braced themselves as the wave hit, washing over all of them. Hody and Maria tried to keep track of everything, but by the time the wave recorded, Scylla and all of the rebel forces were gone.

Maria got up and rubbed her throat, and Lenora and Flink moved in to check over her. "Are you okay?" Flink asked, looking worried.

The princess nodded. "I'm fine," she said before turning towards her brother. He had far worse from Scylla than she had. "Hody, are you alright?"

Hody stood in place, an unreadable expression on his face. "It… it can't be true, can it? There's no way she's related to… it's impossible," he said.

Maria looked at him worriedly. "Hody."

"It's not true. It just… it isn't…"

A/N: Hody and Maria managed to take down Kamon, but their battle against Scylla doesn't go as they'd hoped! And a MASSIVE secret is revealed! I think a few people already picked up on this reveal but hopefully the lead up and execution was still good. What exactly made Maria immune to Kamon's magic? How is Hody going to react to Scylla's bombshell about his family? What made Scylla leave when she was so close to finishing the Kelpbottom siblings off? Where is the next battle going to take place!? Got to keep reading to find out!

Hope that you guys enjoyed!