The fishman trembled in anger even as a new row of teeth grew back, "THIS ENDS NOW! FOXTAIL HARPOON!" Kitsushi threw his leg straight up, but this time, the shockwave soared upward like an arrow, all the way to the top of the dome.
"Um, I think you missed," Hammie watched, confused at the direction of the attack. There was a distant but loud splash, and for a few seconds nothing. Suddenly, Hammie felt a couple drops of water splash on his face and shoulders, "Rain…?" he guessed in confusion before realizing the truth, "You pierced the bubble!"
"I've put up with you long enough!" growled Kitsushi, "Let the ocean rush in here and wipe you all from the face of the earth!" Even as he spoke, the rain turned into a downpour, and a hole in the ceiling of the dome grew wider to reveal the sky above.
"But you have wounded down here!" Hammie pleaded, motioning to the wounded fishmen over with the rest of the spectators, "They're just as screwed if you flood the whole place!" The watery walls lost their solidity and became waterfalls, the area around them quickly flooding.
"If they're worth their species they'll survive," said Kitsushi coldly, "But you and the rest of the humans, you're all done for. I will protect the pride of the fishmen!"
Hammie tried to protest, but was drowned out by the roaring waves as the air dome quickly turned into raging whirlpool that swept everyone up, human and fishman alike.
Blinding light pierced her shut eyes, mumbled words echoed in her ears, and a searing pain permeated her entire body as Wendy slowly drifted back into consciousness, only just now remembering her name. "Hey, Brody, she's waking up," came the echoing voice in her ears, slowly becoming clearer.
Hey eyes peeked open to see two figures enshrouded by the sun behind them, "W-where am I?" she barely whimpered out.
"You're all right! Thank goodness!" said Brody's relieved voice coming from one of the blurry silhouettes in front of her. Wendy could feel arms around her now, but everything was still fuzzy.
"You're on the beach of Jaggerjaw Bay," the images of a no longer paralyzed Doc and a distraught Brody focused into existence, "Does it hurt anywhere?"
"Yes…" she said weakly.
"Where does it hurt?" Doc clarified.
"Yes…" she replied, "What happened? I remember…" Events started coming back to Wendy piece by piece, "At the bottom of the ocean, then everything started flooding. Couldn't swim against the current, and then… something jerked my foot and everything went black."
Doc nodded, "Same thing to everyone here, though no one completely saw what happened."
"Everyone?" Wendy managed to sit up and look around. Takashi was lying still on the ground, a little better patched up than before. Michael was busy trying to dry his guns out, while Jude was standing proudly watching the giant, newly formed whirlpool in the ocean. Across the beach, Wendy saw Mambo tending to the injuries of the rest of the fishman gang who washed up on shore with them. Two important figures were still missing, however, "Where's Hammie?"
"He hasn't come up yet," Brody answered uneasily, "Neither has Kitsushi."
Wendy connected the rest of the dots in her mind, "Hammie… he got everyone out of the whirlpool." It's what he would have done after all, she reasoned in her mind. Hammie's lasso combined with his strength, he alone could probably throw someone underwater with enough force to get them free of the whirlpool Kitsushi created. But if he was stuck down there now, "He saved us all."
Everyone was silent, wondering if there was any way Hammie could have survived this long under water with Kitsushi without air.
"Something's coming!" All eyes turned when a dark shape approached the shore.
"Hammie?" Wendy asked hopefully.
"I don't think so…" Brody tried to stand ready, his injuries still holding him back.
Sure enough, Kitsushi slowly arose from the water, more bruised than before, but still intact, "The pride of the fishmen," he proclaimed as he stepped forward, "Despite your best efforts remains intact," Kitsushi locked eyes with Brody, although stone-faced he still raised his head proudly, "Brody, are you still on the humans' side?"
Brody grimaced, fearing for Hammie's well-being, "I'm not on anyone's side. I'm just the only sane one left."
Kitsushi brought his leg up in Brody's direction, readying for the kill, "Have it your way," Before he could execute Brody, he was interrupted by the hysterical laughter of the nearly naked human watching from the side. Kitsushi blinked in confusion, considered his options, and lowered his leg for the time being, turning to the very odd human, "I'm going to regret asking this, but what's so damn funny?"
Jude couldn't help but snicker, holding his eyes as he pointed back out at the ocean, "You haven't looked behind you yet."
Kitsushi's eyes widened in disbelief, "You're bluffing!" Jude only answered by grinning wider, "No… It couldn't be!" Kitsushi darted around to see someone hunched over in the shallows of the water, someone who couldn't possibly be there, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why won't you die?"
"Hey Brody…" Hammie rasped between breaths, seawater still pouring from his clothes, a soaked rope tightly tied around his waist, "Sorry about this, but like I said earlier, these guys do owe me a ship," When Hammie glanced up at Brody, he was smiling.
Brody shook his head in confusion, "What are you- HEY!"
Jude had suddenly dashed in, grabbed Wendy and Kitsushi and pulled them out of the way while Kitsushi was distracted, "Sorry, but I know how this ends, and you don't want front row seats, trust me."
"But there's more than one way to square that debt," Hammie reached behind him and tugged on the rope with both arms, throwing all his strength into pulling it and whatever it was tied to. His legs braced, his teeth grinded against each other, and every muscle in his body flexed to tug at the seemingly anchored rope, as if he was trying to pull the world itself out of orbit.
At first, the rope seemed immobile, the effort wasted. But then the whirlpool in the center of the bay was disturbed by something. One by one, the spectators' eyes were drawn to the growing shape in the water, foaming larger and larger until enough water drained from it for it to be visible.
The headquarters of the Tiburones Gemelos, the three-story pagoda on top of a battleship, the ancient warship of the fishmen, or rather what remained of its wreckage on the ocean floor, slowly rose from the ocean depths. For a moment, it seemed to be rising as the product of some sort of divine miracle or ancient curse. The ship rose until it was no longer touching the surface, having suddenly gained the miracle of flight.
That's when most of the spectators, Kitsushi included, noticed the rope line connecting it to the grunting human pulling it out of the water. Time seemed to slow down as the ship flew over the water, arcing over Hammie even as stray debris fell back into the water. Hammie hurled it through the air, set to land on Kitsushi and only Kitsushi, as everyone else had just enough presence of mind to back the hell away.
Kitsushi could only stare as conflicting emotions flooded into his mind one after another: confusion, disbelief, anger, shame, and finally, as he relaxed and stared blankly into his world literally crashing down on top of him, acceptance. He's the stronger one. I failed everything the fishmen were supposed to stand for. I'm sorry, everyone. Kitsushi didn't even blink as the shipwreck crashed on top of him.
Fishman and human alike stood in silence, unsure of how to react. Even though they had just seen it, none were sure there eyes weren't playing tricks on them.
Except Jude, who started applauding, "Bravo! That's how you properly end a performance: by bringing the house down!"
"He… he won?" Wendy dared to hope, "Hammie won?"
Some waited to see if Kitsushi would burst out of the wreckage, prove himself perfectly fine and finish what he started, but no such moment came. Satisfied, Hammie quietly walked towards the giant wreck.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Doc managed to chime in before Hammie could get farther away, "Fight's over. You need medical attention."
Hammie calmly smiled in response, "In a minute. I have to go clean up this mess first," he casually replied before climbing into the wreckage.
Kitsushi waited for his life to flash before his eyes, but all that came was one old, vague, but familiar memory…
Years ago, deep under the sea…
"And punch!"
"HYAH!"
"Two!"
"HYAH!"
"Three!"
"HYAH!"
Inside the underwater dojo, a school of young fishmen dutifully followed their Sensei's instructions, thrusting alternating palms with each direction. "Remember students!" the elderly instructor, a lionfish fishman, paced between the practicing students, inspecting them for the tiniest flaw, "It is not enough, in the art of fishman karate, for your body alone to be strong. A true master of fishman karate does not attack with his arm alone. The entire ocean is a part of his body, just as much as his arms and legs," One of the larger students' leg was merely an inch off where it should have been, so the sensei quickly leg swept the unwary young fishman, him landing on his back, "If you do not acknowledge and embrace the ocean as part of you, then you are doomed to be swept under its tides."
Sensei left the still recovering student to another, younger fishman. The youngest in the class even. Even so, his stance was perfect as far as he could tell. The student had the least experience of his class, but he learned the quickest. Still, the sensei wanted to make sure that arrogance never filled the boy's mind. He swept the student off his feet. Although equally surprised, instead of falling to the ground, the student flipped backward in the ocean water until he landed on his feet as before.
Sensei nodded with approval. "Sparring matches!" he declared, and the students all rushed to the sides of the room, standing with respect. "Brody," he pointed to the promising young student, "And Kitsushi,"he then turned to the older student who he'd knocked down earlier. The two stepped to the center of the room, awaiting instructions. Some of the students wondered about the matchup, as Kitsushi was literally twice the size of the new student, but no one dared question Sensei.
"Bow," the two students turned to each other and bowed, "BEGIN!" Both took their respective stances and started trading blows. The outcome was as everyone expected, with Kitsushi pinning the new student to the floor in a matter of seconds.
"STOP!" Sensei commanded, and Kitsushi instantly let go. Both students turned to their instructor, "Brody. Good work. Excellent form." The young fishman bowed in appreciation. "Kitsushi. Very sloppy. Practice more."
"Forgive me, Sensei!" Kitsushi objected, "But I was the clear victor!"
Sensei glared coldly at Kitsushi and bellowed, "You won through your natural size and strength! Your technique was poor! You used only your arms and legs, and even then your movements were clumsy and wasted! Brody's technique was flawless. If you were both adults, he would have been the clear victor!"
"Y-Yes, Sensei!" Kitsushi responded with embarrassment.
"That is all for today! Class dismissed!"
Kitsushi left the dojo a little more humbled than when he entered. As he started on his way home, he turned to see someone rushing to catch up to him.
"Wait up!" the new student yelled as he caught up to Kitsushi, who only gave a brief glance before continuing on his way, "It's Kitsushi, right? Sensei's pretty tough, huh?"
"What do you want?"Kitsushi growled.
"What? I just wanted to talk," Brody said innocently.
"About?" came the curt reply as Kitsushi continued on his path, Brody following alongside him.
"I don't know," Brody shrugged, "I figured maybe we could be sparring partners or something. Practice together, you know."
Kitsushi twitched, "And what makes you think you need practice?"
"Are you kidding?" laughed Brody, " You wiped the floor with me! I don't know what Sensei was on your back for."
"I think we're done here," Kitsushi moved just a little bit quicker to try and put some distance between him and the kid annoying him.
But Brody merely sped up as well, keeping pace, "Hey, I didn't mean it like that."
"Why are you following me?" asked Ktisushi, quickly growing impatient.
"Well, how do I put it…" Brody thought for a moment, searching for the right words, " I guess… When people go looking for friends normally, they usually look for something. Common interests, a sense of humor, stuff like that, right?"
"I wouldn't know. I don't have any friends," was the emotionless reply.
"Perfect! Me neither! Anyway," Brody unexpectedly exclaimed in excitement, "This might be just me, but I personally think my friends should be the strongest around. Not to say there's anything wrong with being friends with the weak. Just that when looking for potential pals, it might be good to look for someone who's got your back. And you're easily the strongest in the class!"
This actually caused Kitsushi to pause and glance at Brody, "Really?"
"Except for Sensei, but now that I think about it, he's getting kind of old. You might be able to knock out his dentures."
This forced a smile and even a light chuckle from the normally stone-faced Kitsushi, "Heh… What'd you say your name was?"
"Brody Martin. Great White Shark fishman. You?"
"Kitsushi. Half Bull shark, half Fox shark fishman."
Brody grinned, "Geez, no wonder I got my ass handed to me. Not a bad combination."
"Wish my father thought so," muttered Kitsushi.
"What was that?"
"Nothing…" dismissed Kitsushi just before he stopped moving, Brody following suit.
"Why've we stopped?" asked a somewhat confused Brody.
"This is where I live,"Kitsushi motioned to the decent-sized, pristine, fenced-in home, one without any decorations or personality to it. Standing on the front doorstep was a large, fierce, disgruntled-looking, older shark fishman, dressed in a formal, dark-colored hakama other might consider depressing.
"Yikes, who's the scary old guy?" Brody joked without thinking.
"That's my father," said Kitsushi, the stone expression returning to his face.
"Oh," Brody said embarrassed. After looking over the two, the older shark fishman approached the two, sending shivers down Brody's spine as his chest felt like it would be ripped open by the daggers of the adult's piercing glare.
He looked as if he was about to chastise Brody for not keeping the volume down on his pounding heartbeat, but instead he turned to his fellow student, "Welcome home, Kitsushi," he spoke coldly without any hint of parental love in his voice, "And how did you perform in your training today."
Kitsushi bowed slightly, just enough to look at his father's feet, "Thank you, father. Today's session was fruitful. I learned much." His father glared coldly in response. Brody would later learn that this was basically code for 'I got my ass handed to me' in Kitsushi's household. A moment of awkward silence passed between the three before Brody coughed. "I'm sorry," Kitsushi apologized for no reason in particular, "Father, this is a new student in my class. His name is-"
"I know the name of the son of the Martin family," this time it was the old man's turn to bow respectfully to Brody, surprising both of the younger fishmen, "I served under your father many years ago, Master Brody. Your presence here is an honor."
"Um, thanks?" came the eventual response. Kitsushi never broke his posture or spoke out of turn, but seemed to be equally confused.
"May I ask why fortune has graced our humble abode with your presence?" the older fishman asked.
"I was just asking Kitsushi here if he wouldn't mind practicing and sparring together,' Brody then quickly added after thinking, "With your permission of course… sir."
"I see… My son will be glad to assist you in whatever you require." Apparently a family discussion wasn't necessary.
"Th-thank you very much, sir," Brody tried awkwardly bowing back in respect.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, Master Brody, my son and I have important family matters to discuss."
"O-of course!" Brody bowed to the adult and turned to Kitsushi before heading off, "See you next practice!"
Kitsushi knew better than to speak out of turn as he and his father waited until Brody was out of sight. "Kitsushi, listen closely," his father began.
"Yes, father?"
"Brody Martin is unlike you or me. We are members of the shark fishmen, the greatest species on earth. We are superior to even other species of fishmen, and far superior to the land-walking humans above us and their equally inferior cousins. We have every reason to be proud," Kitsushi listened carefully to his father's words. "But Brody and his family are pure blood Great White Shark fishmen, whereas we have the mixed blood of several different types of shark fishmen in our veins. For the purity of their blood, the Martin family is superior even to us. To be a servant or slave to the Martin family would be an honor to us. To be a companion to the Martin family is one of the greatest honors you could possibly achieve. You have done well even if your meeting was luck."
"Thank you, father," Kitsushi started before his father quickly raised one hand for silence.
"You will assist Brody Martin in whatever task he might undertake. You will do all you can to ensure his safety, and more importantly his honor. If he desires something, you must help him obtain it. If you can, you will give him your life. If possible, you must help his offspring retain the purity of blood that he has, though you obviously do not have a say in what sort of fishwoman he would take as a mate.
"But most important of all, you must protect his honor. If he should attempt something that would compromise his family line's honor, you must stop him by any means necessary, even if it means killing him. Do you understand?"
Kitsushi was silent for a moment, processing the information, "Yes, father. I swear I will give my life and everything I am to protect the honor of Brody Martin."
"Very good. You may one day make your ancestors proud," the older fishman said approvingly before turning to go inside.
Kitsushi followed ten paces behind, but a bright light shone from the normally dim door of his home, one that as he approached grew lighter until it blinded all of his senses…
"There you are. How're you doing? Still alive?" came the disembodied voice from the bright light above Kitsushi.
The fishman lay in the bottom of the rubble, pinned down by debris of wood, metal, and concrete. Even if he was capable of moving, he didn't try to free himself. There would be no point to it. "I let down everyone… my best friend and fellow captain… my crew… my heritage…"
"Nah, don't beat yourself up. The way I see it, I already took care of that, and preventing you from doing anything really bad," the voice of the human joked.
Kitsushi argued, "One of my crew, the people I was supposed to protect, was murdered. The killer walks free, and my fellow captain gave up his people and his position to protect her. How is that not a failure?"
The voice was silent for a minute, contemplating a response, "What makes you think they did those things?"
"How could I not?" the fishman cried, "Why else would Brody outright refuse a trial, or even an investigation?"
"Just a sec," Hammie left the rubble for a moment and yelled out to the crowd watching, "Hey Wendy, did you murder anyone?"
Wendy's eyes shot to the sand, the events of that horrible day playing over and over in her mind, trying to find the answer to that question, "I… don't…"
"Look, it's not that hard," Hammie shouted back, "Did you ever purposefully kill someone and intend to do so?"
"N-no?" she responded in confusion.
Hammie smiled and turned to Brody, "What about you, Brody? Did you ever do anything like that?"
"Of course not!" came the indignant response.
Hammie nodded and resumed digging Kitsushi out of the rubble, "There. Mystery solved."
"And you can just take their word for it?" said Kitsushi.
"Sure," Hammie shrugged, "Like I said, Brody and Wendy are my friends. What kind of friend would I be if I couldn't take them at their word?"
Kitsushi winced, closed his eyes, and lay still for several minutes in thought even as Hammie worked tirelessly to free him, "You know, I would've gladly been a first mate, a lowly deckhand, or even a slave under Brody. Brody was the one who insisted we share the burden of captainhood. I would've taken a bullet for him without a second thought or any regrets. But in the end, I couldn't even trust his own judgment. If I could move, I'd kill myself in shame," he said in contempt and disgust, this time not directed at anyone but himself.
Hammie finally pulled back the last board pinning the fishman to the ground, "Well, it's a good thing I haven't dug you out yet, because that would kind of defeat the purpose."
Kitsushi looked into the human's eyes, seeing nothing but a naïve, innocent kindness, nothing like the man he'd fought minutes ago, "Why are you helping me? My crew destroyed your ship, and I tried to kill you."
Hammie bent down to Kitsushi's side and draped one of the fishman's arms around his shoulder, "Yeah, but to be fair I kind of returned the favor on both counts, so I guess that makes us even. Besides, I'm not the main person you owe an apology to."
Kitsushi shook his head in tears, "How can I possibly look them in the eye and expect to be forgiven?"
"Hell if I know. You should ask them. Now come on, work with me here. I shouldn't have to carry a big lug like you the whole way," Hammie helped the begrudged Kitsushi up and led him out of the rubble.
Outside the wreckage of the ship, human and fishman alike watched and listened quietly for any sign of Hammie or Kitsushi, but all they could hear was the shifting of wood and rubble.
"There they are!" came an unexpected shout from the distance. Wendy turned to see a crowd of feeble villagers armed with any pitchfork, rake, broom, or other household implement they could find. At the forefront of the group, the cowardly mayor Quint led the mob, worn shovel in hand, rushing over to Wendy, Brody, and the rest of the group.
"Quint!" Wendy exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
Quint struggled to catch his breath along with the rest of the mob, "Wendy, look, I'm sorry. We're all a bunch of weak cowards. But we can't just stand back ourselves and let you risk your lives on our account. Just point us in the right direction, and we'll do our best. Sure, we'll probably die horrific painful deaths, but it's the right thing to do!" Every one of the villagers meekly sounded in agreement.
"Um… you're a little late," Wendy tried to explain.
The crowd of villagers murmured in confusion, especially Quint, "Come again?"
Just then, the rubble of the shipwreck made one final shift as a series of armored plates of the once great ship fell to the side leaving a small pathway for two shadowy figures to emerge arm in arm. Hammie and Kitsushi walked out together, both beaten to a pulp, the fishman being propped up by the human.
Quint widened his eyes in horror, "I-it's you! Why are you helping that fishman? Don't you know who he is?"
Hammie ignored the frazzled mayor and cleared his throat, "Kitsushi here has something he'd like to say to you," Hammie let go of the shamed fishman and nudged him forward, "Go on."
As Kitsushi slowly approached them, Brody jumped in front of Wendy, no one sure what he was going to try. Kitsushi stepped forward a few paces before seemingly collapsing. Not out of exhaustion as everyone might've expected, but the fishman bowed on his hands and knees, head face-down in the dirt.
"Brody… Wendy…" the once unshakable fishman groveled, "I don't deserve to be called captain. I betrayed and failed both of you in the worst possible way. You deserve my head on a silver platter, and if you ask, I'll gladly give it to you." Tears dripped down into the sand along with what little remained of his dignity, "I'm sorry… for everything. I don't deserve your forgiveness or your mercy, but I must ask for it anyway."
Brody and Wendy stood in stunned silence, slowly blinking and waiting for what had to be an illusion or dream to fade out of existence. The first to snap out of it was Wendy, who suddenly grinned and whispered something into Brody's ear.
Brody turned to Wendy in even more confusion than before, "You sure?" Wendy nodded excitedly in response. Brody shared a small grin before wiping it into a cold grimace, "All right then," Brody stepped in front of the groveling fishman, coldly glaring down the bridge of his nose at him, "Kitsushi, Wendy and I will forgive everything you've done, on one condition."
Shocked by the mere possibility of forgiveness, Kitsushi raised his head, "Anything! My arm! My leg! My eyes! I'll be your slave if you want!"
Brody smiled, "I'm getting married soon. I need a best man."
"T-that's your condition?" Kitsushi blinked.
"Yup. Do you accept?" he nodded, "Or is that too much for you?"
"I-I accept!" Kitsushi hurriedly agreed.
"YAY!" Wendy happily screamed as she jumped up and down in joy. Brody said nothing more but gave his fishman comrade a big, brotherly hug.
"MARRIED?" Before Quint heard that news, there had never been quite that shade of white on any man's skin. Everything else that had happened here paled in comparison to that one bit of news. He was completely ignored by the celebrating couple.
Hammie counted to ten on his fingers, giving the moment time to set in before clearing his throat, "Excuse me," he tapped Kitsushi on the shoulder, "Isn't there something else you need to do?" He nudged towards the crowd of villagers.
Kitsushi nodded seriously and slowly approached the terrified armed mob, "Tiburones Gemelos!" Kitsushi boomed, "Form up!" It didn't matter if most of them were injured, every fishman who had otherwise stood on the sidelines until then rushed forward into formation behind Kitsushi. They had no more idea what was going on than anyone else, but they still knew how to follow orders. The villagers' recoiled in horror as they clutched their weapons tighter.
"Tiburones Gemelos!" commanded Kitsushi, "Bow!" The fishman captain threw himself to the ground as he had before. The other fishmen hesitated only for a second, having to process the before-unheard of order, before following suit.
"Villagers of Jaggerjaw!" Kitsushi yelled loudly, "We vowed to protect you, and instead we oppressed you. We treated you like slaves, not like equals like we should have. We failed you. Can you forgive us?"
Quint was starting to feel nauseous, scanning the scene and completely unsure of what he should do, of what the mayor of Amity Village should do, "I…" his eyes fell on Hammie, who only smiled at him. I'm the mayor now, damnit! Quint resolved in his mind, This is what I have to do… Suddenly, Quint tossed his shovel to the ground at his side, and threw himself down, bowing exactly as Kitsushi was, "Forgive us!" Quint paused to look behind him, impatiently motioning for the rest of the crowd to bow with him. Although they hesitated, one by one the crowd laid down their weapons and followed suit, "We have to share part of the blame for treating you like monsters instead of people who live here too."
As the two crowds bowed in the sand to each other, Wendy couldn't help as tears streamed down her face.
The moment was broken when one of the fishman in the back piped up, "But boss! Where we gonna live? Our home is trashed." The rest of the fishmen murmured in agreement and uncertainty.
"You know, now that you mention it," Hammie stepped in, "Aren't there a bunch of abandoned boarded up houses in town? Sounds like there could be plenty of rooms. After the two resident doctors make sure they're plague-free of course. What do you say, mayor?"
The mere mention of the word 'doctor' was enough to hush all the villagers. All eyes turned to Quint for guidance, who, barely able to form a coherent response, meekly replied, "Um… er… Sounds good?"
Both sides arose cheering as a years' worth of hate and mistrust had seemingly instantly vanished. The rigid formation of the crowds devolved into handshakes and hugs between both races, and excited talks about celebrations, drinks, and parties, especially one particular wedding coming up.
Satisfied with the turn of events, Hammie finally relaxed, "I think I'll take a nap now…" Hammie fell backward right where he stood and was completely unconscious before he hit the sand.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: Not even jury duty can prevent me from putting this chapter up! Hopefully your patience has been rewarded.
And just so you know, I've still got a few more chapters to go before this arc ends.