Sharkboy had always been drawn to the volcano of Planet Drool.

At first, it had been because the sea around it was warmer, and teaming with fish and crabs that always made a good snack. But, over time, he found himself surfacing to stare at the fiery mountain with its lava flow shining against the dark sky like bright orange veins. Sometimes, the volcano roared and rumbled, and spat out lava in what Sharkboy could have sworn was anger. Other times, it went dark and quiet, the fire dimming so greatly that it was almost completely gone.

"It has not always been like that," Jabbers, one of the oldest sharks on the planet, told him when Sharkboy expressed interest. "In the beginning, the volcano was empty and lifeless. It stayed that way for many years. Long, cold years where there was little food or warmth. Joy was rare in those Dark Times. I do not like remembering it."

"But it didn't stay like that, right?" Sharkboy asked. Jabbers' description of Planet Droop was nothing like the bright, colorful, and playful world he'd come to call home.

"No," the elder said. "Shortly before you arrived, little hybrid, the Goddess came. It was Her that breathed life into Planet Drool; it is by Her will and power that all exists the way you see it."

That was a lot of important information, but Sharkboy could only pay attention to one thing. "There's a person living there?"

Jabbers let out a low growl, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. "A Goddess, not a person. Something wholly different from I or even you. And She is not to be bothered!"

He added the last bit sharply when he noticed Sharkboy still staring in the direction of the Goddess' Volcano. With another growl, Jabbers bumped his nose against Sharkboy's side, right under his gills, effectively knocking the breath out of the young hybrid.

"Don't do that!" he snapped, baring his own mouth of sharp teeth. Normally, Sharkboy wouldn't speak that way to an elder, but that had hurt! "I was just—"

"You may think yourself our Boy-King, but you have no business bothering the light that brings life to Planet Drool!" Jabbers cut him off. When Sharkboy continued to glare, the shark let out a huff —or as near as a shark could— and added, "Besides, the heat of the volcano would dry out your skin and lungs. Spending too long on the surface will be your end, little hybrid. Now, come... You have duties to attend to."

That should have been the end of it. Sharkboy had a bad temper, he could admit, but he wasn't an overly curious child —at least, not when it came to anything other than his father's location— and he knew when to listen to his elders.

And yet... Sharkboy still found himself staring out at the Goddess' Volcano, fascinated by its changing moods, and curious about the being that dwelled inside. The interest and desire to GO THERE grew and grew, until Sharkboy couldn't even sleep without seeing its fire in his mind. After that, Sharkboy lost the ability to sleep at all. Sharkboy tried to tell himself that it was just the mystery, the danger of going near the volcano that appealed to him. But he wasn't that stupid, and only a month after his talk with Jabber, the hybrid found himself in the warm water outside of the Goddess' home.

He was being smart about it! Sharkboy had watched and waited for the fire of the volcano to dim once more; he didn't think it was a good thing when this happened, the planet was always darker and colder when it happened, but he figured that would be the safest time for him to visit. Sharkboy had also made sure he was properly hydrated, fed, and rested, all things that would help him not immediately dry out. Finally, he brought gifts: a big chunk of turquoise he dug out from some underwater rocks, and a nice, plump lobster.

The gemstone was because the Goddess was (probably) a girl, and from Sharkboy's limited knowledge of the species, they (usually) liked pretty rocks. The lobster was because everyone liked food, and if the Goddess didn't want it, then Sharkboy could always eat it himself.

Yet, despite all of his prep, Sharkboy still found himself swimming around near the shore in front of the cave for nearly an entire day before plucking up the courage to go in.

"C'mon," he growled to himself, hand gripping the rocky edge of the shore. "C'mon, you've got to do this. If you don't do it now, then who knows when it'll be calm enough to come again?"

As if hearing his words, the fire of the volcano flared up briefly, its veins glowing bright orange before cooling once more. However, even that brief pulse of heat was enough to irritate Sharkboy's skin.

'Pulse... Yeah, it was almost like a heartbeat.'

Silly as it sounded, that thought was enough to make Sharkboy shove his discomfort away and haul himself up onto the solid ground. With one last moment of mental bracing, the hybrid headed inside the opening at the base of the volcano with his offerings in hand.

As it turned out, Jabbers hadn't been lying when he said being near the volcano would be hard for Sharkboy. Each step he took deeper into the volcano's depths made it harder to breathe; the dry air hurt his skin and eyes, and whenever he breathed in, ash coated his tongue. As he passed through a series of empty tunnels and chambers, at least a dozen times the hybrid considered turning back—it wasn't like he found a sign that anyone was living here yet. But, step by step, he persisted.

"Hello?" he called out again, trying not to cough when he got a fresh mouthful of ash.

'Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... Noth—Wait, what was that?'

It was a small sound, barely audible over the natural sounds of an active volcano, only capable of being picked up by Sharkboy's sensitive ears.

A sniffle. No, a series of soft, feminine sniffles. Like someone was crying.

"Hello?" he called out again, heading in the direction of the noise. "Is anyone there?"

.

.

.

"Go away!"

The second voice echoed through the caverns of the volcano, nearly scaring Sharkboy right out of his skin. Once he got over his initial fright though, Sharkboy noticed how young the voice sounded. As in, not much older than him! The hybrid didn't know much about goddesses, but he was pretty sure they weren't supposed to sound like that.

"My name is Sharkboy," he said, ignoring the order for him to leave. "I'm here to... meet you. I brought gifts."

"...What?"

This time, the hybrid didn't answer. Instead, he used the sound of the goddess' voice to lead him even closer. Turning the corner, Sharkboy felt his eyes go wide.

"You're the Goddess?"

The girl in front of him, if she even was a girl, gave him a confused look. "What did you call me?"

She looked tiny. Only about his height, but far more slender and delicate looking. Her hair was pink, which was odd enough, but more importantly, it was moving! The pink curls shifted and shimmered on her head, glowing and burning away before springing back to life.

"Wow," Sharkboy whispered, gifts forgotten. His eyes drifted downward to the goddess' body, gawking in wonder and confusion when he realized that she didn't have skin past that on her neck.

Or, at least, not normal skin. Instead, much like her hair, the Goddess' skin glowed brightly as fire. It wasn't smooth either, some areas were thick and dark like a cracked stone, while other places were so thin that Sharkboy could see a glowing liquid shifting and stirring around. It was unnerving, yet he didn't want to pull his eyes away —no matter how much they started to hurt from the bright light and ash which filled the air.

"Goddess... Is that my name?"

Sharkboy blinked. "Uhhhhh... That's what all the other sharks call you."

"Other people have called me that too. That or 'monster.' 'Witch' too, sometimes," the... Goddess(?) said, facing scrunching up in unhappiness. "I don't think that's my name though."

"Do you not remember your name?"

That happened to Sharkboy sometimes. When he thought about it really, really hard, he could sometimes remember that his human name was Finn Antilles. And that was a good name, he supposed. But it didn't fit right, not after all these years—if it ever did at all.

Maybe the name "Goddess" fit the fiery spirit in front of him poorly too?

"No, I don't remember anything before I..." The Goddess stumbled over her words. Her brow furrowed, lips pursing. "I don't know how to explain it, to myself or you. One minute, I didn't exist, and then I did. I don't know how I existed, or why. I just did. That's all I know."

'Huh... That's a lot. Not really sure what to say to that,' Sharkboy thought. "What do you call yourself then?"

The fiery girl shrugged."'Me,' I guess. 'I'."

'That's not helpful,' Sharkboy thought. "Well... What do you want to be called?"

Another shrug. "My name."

Sharkboy felt a twinge of annoyance at the unhelpful answers. He fought back a growl, gnawing on the inside of his cheek. The girl looked at him, dark eyes so sad that Sharkboy flinched.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I don't really... talk to people."

That made sense. "The sharks say you're too busy to talk to us, too important."

"Some of the people back on Earth were like that too. Others were too afraid to talk to me. That didn't feel good. It made me sad, I'd like to talk to people."

"I'm talking to you," Sharkboy said quickly. He hated seeing the Goddess sad. Deep in his gut, he knew it was wrong, and bad, and not how things should be. "I haven't talked to anyone from Earth for a while. It's nice."

The last human he talked to was his dad, and that was... who knows how long ago. Though, from the sounds of it, the Goddess hadn't talked to people from Earth at all. Still, she smiled up at him when he said that, and that made Sharkboy feel very good. A smile looked much better on the Goddess' face than a frown.

"I can talk to you for as long as you'd like," he continued. It was a bald-faced lie. The heat of the volcano was making him weak, and the ash was clogging his throat. He should go back into the ocean. He probably should have never surfaced in the first place.

But Sharkboy can't say he regretted it.

He swallowed hard, trying not to wince at the ash clogging his throat. "Maybe I can help you figure out your name."

The Goddess brightened, though her eyes were still cautious. "How?"

That was a good question. One Sharkboy hadn't given much thought to. "Uhhhh, maybe I could try calling you something different each day? Eventually, it might jog something loose in your brain."

The fiery sprite nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like it could take a very long time."

Now it was Sharkboy's turn to shrug. "I have a very long time."

Then a coughing fit escaped his throat. Taking a deep breath did little good, only surviving to dry out Sharkboy's throat.

"Are you okay?" the Goddess asked, eyes worried once more.

"Fine," he gasped once the coughing subsided. "Pinky."

"Pinky?!"

Sharkboy tried to blink the spots in his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I'm calling you today. Does it ring any bells?"

"I'm not sure I know what bells sound like!"

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," he said. "It's okay, I'll get there eventually. We can—"

The ground beneath Sharkboy spun out from under him and he fell to his knees.

"W-what's happening?!"

The heat around Sharkboy increased, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the Goddess' face was so close to his that he could count her eyelashes.

"I... can't be out of the water... for too long," Sharkboy stammered. "The heat... It isn't good for me."

"...Then why are you here?" the G—Pinky cried. "Why did you stay so long?"

Sharkboy swallowed again. "Because we were talking."

Was it possible for a girl to look so pretty and so sad at the same time? It seemed crazy.

"I need to get to the ocean. I'll come back though, by tomorrow. I promise," the hybrid said, struggling to his feet.

Pinky hovered nearby, fingers twitching fretfully. "I wish I could help. But when I get too close to people, I—"

She reached out to him but as soon as her fingers came close to Sharkboy's skin, the heat and pain intensified and he cried out in pain.

The girl jerked back. "Sorry! Sorry! That's what always happens!"

"Just... walk with me then," Sharkboy said, getting a nod from Pinky in return.

He limped towards the entrance of the cave, to the safety of the water, with Pinky shuffling close behind. The air outside the cave wasn't much cooler but the cool breeze coming off the ocean felt like heaven. Sharkboy took a deep breath, sighing as his lungs started to clear out and the spots in his eyes faded away.

"Do you... Do you feel better now?" Pinky asked, wringing her hands together.

Sharkboy nodded, watching with fascination as Pinky's fiery hair flared up in the breeze, twisting and flickering before dying out— only to flare up again after a moment. It was only then that Sharkboy realized he was still holding the gifts he'd brought for the G— for Pinky.

"Oh, here," he said. "I brought these for you."

He reached out to hand them to her, only for Pinky to shrink away.

"Don't get too close, I don't want to burn you again," she warned.

Sharkboy winced, his skin aching at the very thought. "...Right. How about I just toss them to you?"

Pinky looked nervous but hesitantly held out her hands. Sharkboy tossed her the chunk of turquoise first, smiling as Pinky's eyes widened in delight as she turned the pretty rock in her hands. Deciding she liked it, Pinky tucked the turquoise under her arm and held her arms out again. But, this time, when the lobster landed in Pinky's hand it burst into flame, the red shell turning black until it crumbled to white ash and blew away.

"Oh no, your gift," Pinky whimpered. "I ruined it."

She sounded so defeated, so sad, that Sharkboy wanted to hug her. It was only the fresh memory of the pain close contact could cause that held him back.

"It's fine," he promised. "I can find you another one. Or something else. Something you'd like better. I should've thought how it could burn."

"I... don't know what I like," Pinky admitted.

Huh...

"I can help with that," Sharkboy said, puffing out his chest confidently. Then he groaned at the flare of pain that shot through his skin. "Tomorrow."

And, with that, he dove into the water. His gills fluttered with relief, and the pain in his skin soothed. Part of Sharkboy wanted to sink to the seafloor for a nap, but decided he needed to say goodbye first.

He broke the surface to see Pinky crouched by the water's edge. Her face brightened when she saw him.

"All better now?" she asked.

"All better," he smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I promise!"

He turned to swim away, only to stop when Pinky called out again. "Wait! You didn't tell me your name!"

"You can call me Sharkboy," he called back. "Everyone does!"

Pinky seemed to glow brighter as she waved. "See you tomorrow Sharky! I can't wait to see you again!"

'Me neither,' the hybrid thought, diving back under the waves.